Psychiatric ER

About the Department

The Department of Emergency Medicine provides an initial response to sick and injured patient who come to Mayanei HaYeshua at all levels of urgency. These include those who have a referral from doctors in the community. The service operates 24 hours a day, all year round.
The department conducts the initial diagnosis and treatment, from which patients are routed for further treatment and hospitalization between the various hospital departments or for treatment outside the medical center.

The team is committed to providing quality care while maintaining human dignity (his family and his faith) and to act as necessary to alleviate illness and affliction, using up-to-date professional tools and integrating the spirit of the place and the halachic rules that are applied there.

Reception

Opening a file

Opening an ER file in the reception office in the lobby of the hospital entrance.
Contact the ER Secretary for registration.

  • Initial admission by a triage nurse – the nurse will classify the referral according to the level of urgency.
  • It is important to remember that the order of treating patients in the ER is not necessarily according to the order of their arrival at the ER, but according to the level of urgency determined by the treating staff. The level of urgency may change during the patient’s stay in the department, and the priority of his treatment may also change in accordance with this.
  • The Psychiatric ER is an integral part of the General ER. It is located within it in a part that is more hidden.The admission process to this ER is the same as when admitting a patient to the General ER, but there are unique emphases because there are cases that sometimes involve a risk to either the patient or those around him.
  • The Psychiatric ER is open from 09:00 to 13:00, and provides a response for patients applying for treatment or requesting advice from the various ERs at the center.
    – Psychiatric screening is part of the Mental Healthcare Department at the medical center; it combines medical treatment while preserving the values of the Haredi community.
Important to know

• Upon arrival at the ER, it is highly advisable to bring a referral letter from the attending physician.
• You should bring medical documents that are as up to date as possible, including ECG charts and imaging tests.
• If the patient is on regular medication, bring an updated list of medications.
• You should come to the ER with only one escort.

Medical Staff

Prof. Israel Strauss

Head of the Psychiatric Division

Prof. Israel Strauss, a graduate of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg,
serves as Head of the Psychiatric Division at the Mental Health Center of the Mayanei HaYeshua Medical Center

He completed his medical and surgical internship at Hillbrow Hospital, Johannesburg, South Africa. He later worked as a general practitioner at the Alexandra Health Center and as an emergency physician at Johannesburg General Hospital
He subsequently specialized in psychiatry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and served as Chief Resident at the Bronx Psychiatric Center, USA
He completed a research fellowship at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center, affiliated with Harvard Medical School
He served as a lecturer and mentor to medical students at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine of Tel Aviv University
He held positions as Department Head and Senior Consultant Psychiatrist at the Mental Health Medical Center in Be’er Ya’akov, where he also served as a member of the Physicians Committee, Chair of the Residency Committee, Chair of the Violence Committee, and Chair of the Medications Committee

In addition, he serves as Chair of the Ethics Committee of the Israel Psychiatric Association and as Editor-in-Chief of the Israel Journal of Psychiatry

Education and Professional Training

2012–2014
MHA – Master of Health Administration, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er Sheva

1996–1998
Fellowship in Clinical Research Psychopharmacology, Massachusetts Mental Health Center, Harvard Medical School

1996
Mini-Fellowship in Brain Imaging, Columbia University, New York, USA

1996
Certification in Forensic Medical Opinions, American Board of Forensic Medicine, USA

1992–1996
Residency in Psychiatry, Albert Einstein College of Medicine (USA Certification Board)

1987–1989
Studies in Psychology and Theological Bioethics, University of South Africa

1984–1989
Faculty of Medicine, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa (MBBCh)