Three graduates of BGU’s Joyce and Irving Goldman Medical School were among the 11 doctors, nurses and medical secretaries who received the Danielle Prize – Healing with a Heart for 2017.
The Danielle Prize seeks to recognize and reward physicians, nurses and other members of the hospital staff who are exemplars of human kindness and compassion in the treatment of patients under their care. The Prize will honor those outstanding physicians, nurses and other members of the hospital staff who have made their patients’ pain their own and who have exceeded expectations in attempting to alleviate their patients’ suffering, according to the prize website.
The prize was established in 2015 in memory of Danielle Sonnenfeld who was tragically killed in a car accident while on her way back from visiting oncology patients. She was 20 years old. The Foundation and the Prize were established by her parents, Rachel and Elio Moti Sonnenfeld, in her memory.
This year, the Prize was awarded to professionals practicing in the field of oncology.
Three of them are graduates of BGU: Prof. Dina Ben-Yehuda, Dr. Avivit Neumann-Auerbach, and Dr. Hila Magen.
The prize was awarded last week in the presence of Israeli President Reuven Rivlin.
Prof. Dina Ben-Yehuda graduated in 1980 and did her residency in hematology. She has run the hematology wing at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem since 2002. Prof. Ben-Yehuda believes treating disease is a joint effort between the doctor and the patient and the doctor’s availability is crucial.
Dr. Avivit Neumann-Auerbach also graduated in 1980 and became a family doctor in Yeruham. She specialized in oncology, and did a sub-specialization in hematology-oncology. Dr. Neumann-Auerbach is a senior oncology physician specializing in urology at Rambam Hospital and strives to provide optimal and quality medical care while taking into account the needs of the patients and their family, to be a friendly ear to the patient’s distress and help them deal with the bureaucracy that accompanies modern medicine.
Dr. Hila Magen graduated in 1991 and did her residency in internal medicine and hematology and in 2004 completed a sub-specialty in common myelomas. Dr. Magen is a senior physician at Beilinson Hospital and runs their common myeloma service which seeks to provide optimal care tailored to the specifics of the disease, the patient’s health and will. She believes that the connection between doctor and patient helps treatment succeed.
Winning the prize demonstrates “The Spirit of Beer-Sheva” where doctors are trained to see the patient holistically and where personal interaction is paramount.