Sheba Medical Center Forms Historic Partnership with Florida Atlantic University's International Center for Emergency Management.

BOCA RATON, Fla., Sept. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The Sheba Medical Center, Israel, and Florida Atlantic University have signed an agreement to join efforts through FAU's International Center for Emergency Management. In this collaboration, Sheba's world-class experts will work with FAU to develop and deliver educational programs, conduct research, and build additional response and leadership capabilities in Florida. In October, several Israeli experts will team up to teach a week-long Intensive Emergency Management Training program at FAU's campus in Boca Raton.

Dr. Yitshak Kreiss, M.D., former Surgeon General of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and Director General of Sheba Medical Center, will serve as the ICEM's Honorary President. Dr. Elhanan Bar-On, Director of the Israel Center for Disaster Medicine and Humanitarian Response at Sheba is the lead Professor for the October ICEM training program. This program, which will be held at FAU from October 14-20, 2018, will focus on leadership in response to natural disasters, mass casualty incidents, CBRN, and more.

"At FAU we look to create world-class opportunities. The Israelis are recognized as being the best in responding to disasters around the world, and we are proud to partner with them to build this program here in Florida," stated Dr. Daniel Gropper, Dean of the College of Business at FAU. "When we talk about 'unbridled ambition' this is an example of what we mean."

FAU's College of Business established the ICEM in 2016, and the Center works in collaboration with the University's Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, and the College of Engineering and Computer Science. "Our College of Business has a Health Administration program and we have had graduate classes in Crisis Management for years. Our vision at FAU is to build internationally recognized programs, and this Center gives us a focal point to work with Israeli experts who are regarded as the best in the world in emergency and disaster response. These programs help support the educational needs of our emergency responders," noted Dean Gropper. "I am proud of the work of my colleagues and the support we have from our President and our advisory board members, as well as so many others in our external community."

The announcement of the new partnership is the next step in work that began with Dr. Kreiss' 10-day visit to FAU in October 2015.

"FAU and its community will have, in my eyes, the privilege, not the option, to do something for humanity," said Dr. Kreiss, who is also a courtesy member of the faculty at both FAU's College of Business and Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine. "A critically important factor in recovery, in areas of disaster, is hope. Our vision is we can always do something."

FAU has developed a comprehensive approach to education in disaster management, offering continuing education programs and regular classes, as well as direct field training experience and exercises. The state of Florida will benefit from this collaboration, as our first responders, public safety and health professionals, and emergency managers in the field will be even more prepared to lead during any crisis. This will help them to optimize the organization and delivery of care to populations, reducing injuries and property loss, and hopefully saving lives.

The ICEM graduated its first 48 students in the 2017-18 academic year in a continuing education professional certificate program in Public Safety Leadership through the College of Business' Executive Education program. The initial students have come from fire and police departments, as well as other emergency responders and public safety officials.

"We have worked hard to reach this milestone with Sheba. Up to now, we grew the ICEM in leadership with our Board of Advisors, in training programs for local emergency responders, and with extensive community outreach, including leading a Roundtable Discussion at the 2018 Governor's Hurricane Conference," said Rebekah Dickinson, Chief Program Officer for the ICEM.

"Our vision from the beginning was to offer something unique in Emergency Management, and this collaboration does that. The Israelis are the best in the world when responding to and recovering from disasters of all kinds, and we are fortunate to leverage all their expertise to train our students for a better future for Florida and the Southeast Region of the US. This is only the beginning; we have plans to expand our offerings as we move forward."

"Interdisciplinary efforts are core to our success. This summer, working with the Christine E Lynn College of Nursing, we welcomed the IDF Chief Nursing Officer and her top two nurses to train nearly 70 regional nurses in Emergency Management. We can offer that kind of expertise, which the World Health Organization has ranked number one in the world for disaster response, to South Florida," Dickinson said.

The ICEM Board of Advisors boasts more than 50 members, led by Chairman Dr. Ira J. Gelb, M.D. Dr. Gelb is a renowned board-certified cardiologist and Senior Academic Advisor for Pre-baccalaureate Programs and Professor of Integrated Medical Science at FAU's Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine.

"I'm so excited about this project," Gelb said. "What we're doing now, thanks to the combined visions of Dr. Kelly, Dean Gropper, and Dr. Kreiss, we're going to help people worldwide. This is one of the great professional highlights of my life, to have an emergency management center at FAU, to partner with the best in the world. Ultimately, this training can help save peoples' lives. When you save somebody, it's a mitzvah, it's a blessing."

"This collaboration with FAU can be a big multiplier for both institutions," said Prof. Elhanan Bar-On. "In this case, two and two can easily become larger than four. With our advance visits at the Florida Governor's Hurricane Conference and our communications and planning for the training program, we are ready to come back in October to provide the best training for all of the people who come and participate."

For more information about the ICEM – academics, research, our leadership, events, and to register for training programs, please visit http://www.fau.edu/savinglives

About Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer

Born together with Israel in 1948, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer is the largest and most comprehensive medical center in the Middle East. Sheba is the only medical center in Israel that combines an acute care hospital and a rehabilitation hospital on one campus, and it is at the forefront of medical treatments, patient care, research and education. As a university teaching hospital affiliated with the Sackler School of Medicine at Tel-Aviv University, it welcomes people from all over the world indiscriminately. To learn more, visit: eng.sheba.co.il.

About Florida Atlantic University
Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU's world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU's existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit http://www.fau.edu.

SOURCE Sheba Medical Center

Related Links

http://eng.sheba.co.il