In the face of a fresh assessment from the Israeli Home Front Command that notified the nation’s 257 local authorities of an increased rocket threat from Hizbullah, leading medical center, Rambam Hospital will conduct a live simulation of its underground, fortified hospital June 8 at 10:30 am at its annual summit.

Dignitaries from around the world will be in attendance at the summit, this year themed “From Vision to Reality,” and witness a simulation of The Sammy Ofer Fortified Underground Emergency Hospital, which is converted from the hospital’s parking garage into a 2,000-bed, full-service medical clinic in just 72 hours.

The largest of only three such structures in the world, the underground hospital is segmented for different wards of the hospital, including neurology, surgery, and OBGYN. Furthermore, the garage can also become a sealed bomb shelter against biological and chemical attacks for up to three days.

A senior Home Front Command source on Tuesday 11 Nissan stated that in just one northern town, situated near Rambam Hospital’s Haifa base, hundreds of rockets could strike, dozens would hit per day and hundreds of civilians may have to be evacuated.

The army source went on to suggest that Hezbollah could fire as many as 1,500 rockets from Lebanon into Israel and that they are working tirelessly to prepare for such a scenario. “Eighty percent of our ability to deal with this will come from preparation ahead of time,” the officer said, with Rambam Medical Center central to any precautionary measures against such attacks.

“Rambam Medical Center understands its responsibility to prepare and respond to any altercation in the north of Israel,” said Director General of Rambam Professor Rafael Beyer. “This latest assessment from the Home Front Command further highlights the hospital’s role in a national protective front against these threats and we will ensure that we do everything possible to keep our patients and the general public safe under any and all circumstance. Our underground hospital is a testament to that.”

Rambam’s “From Vision to Reality” Summit will take place June 7-9 at the hospital’s campus in Haifa and will see leading dignitaries, scientists and philanthropists from around the world attend and learn about Rambam’s vision and the hospital’s continuous advances in modern medicine. Former Israeli President Shimon Peres and Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks will receive the 2015 Rambam Award for their lifelong contributions to Israel and the Jewish people. The summit will also celebrate the opening of the Joseph Fishman Oncology Center, Israel’s most modern cancer center, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the gala event on the evening of June 9.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)