JCT names its nursing school after legendary 'Nurse Selma'
The nursing school was essential for Israel's early response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFJCT MALE Nursing Program students take part in clinical training at Shaare Zedek(photo credit: BARAK ZALKSHVILI)
The Jerusalem College of Technology (JCT) announced Tuesday it would name its renowned nursing school, which was a major contributor to Israel's COVID-19 response, the "Selma Jelinek School of Nursing."The naming was the result of generous financial gift by Atta and Henry Zieleniec, which will help fund the construction of a four-story, 60,000 square-foot building complete with advanced medical training labs, lecture halls, classrooms and a library as part of the institution's new Tal Campus for Women.The school is named in honor of Atta's mother, a Holocaust survivor who was known as "Nurse Selma" due to her service as a nurse in the Russian army during World War II. She later spent much of her life supporting various educational programs in Israel.“We are profoundly grateful to Atta and Henry Zieleniec for their generous gift to our nursing school and to our new Tal Campus for Women,” JCT president Prof. Chaim Sukenik said in a statement.“The coronavirus pandemic has reminded us all of the critical importance of nursing and medical infrastructure. This gift will help provide the country with thousands of highly skilled medical personnel for decades to come.”JCT's nursing school worked throughout the early stages of the pandemic to train 600 students in specialty respiratory care, and dispatched nurses to nursing homes throughout the country, as it is the only institution in Israel offering a master's degree in nursing with a clinical specialization in geriatrics.And with the new improvements as part of the Tal Campus, it will serve to train even more top-quality nurses.
