Jerusalem’s Hadassah hospital teetering near financial collapse

Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem is on the brink of financial collapse, the Forward reported.

The hospital is facing a $300 million deficit, including $80 million accrued in the last year, according to the newspaper.

Efforts by Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America to save the medical center have resulted in a break with the hospital leadership in Israel. The organization has not been able to increase its funding for daily operations of the hospital, the Forward reported, and cash-flow problems caused hospital employees to receive only a partial salary in November.

Last year, during the Hadassah organization’s 100th anniversary celebrations, the group dedicated a state-of-the-art hospital tower fully funded by the organization through a national campaign. The tower is not yet fully operational, however, requiring another $45 million to reach that level.

The four Israeli members of the Hadassah hospital board resigned in October after they were excluded from negotiations with the Israeli government over government funding of the hospital. American representatives of the organization comprise 51 percent of the hospital board and can control its decisions, according to the Forward.

The American Hadassah organization has faced financial difficulties resulting from the world economic downturn and fallout from the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme.