Helmsley Charitable Trust Gives $11 Million in Emergency Grants to Support Israel's COVID-19 Response

NEW YORK, April 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust has announced emergency grants totaling $11 million to hospitals all across Israel to help the country fight COVID-19. 

The money will go to hospitals throughout Israel facing the COVID-19 pandemic, in the center and the periphery, to pay for creating new isolation wards and intensive care units (ICU), medical equipment, and personal protective gear for medical personnel.

The Helmsley grants include $5 million for eight Clalit Health Services hospitals, with $2.1 million of that amount to help pay for turning HaSharon Hospital into a dedicated COVID-19 facility, and $2.9 million to create two new COVID-19 isolation wards at each of  Soroka, Kaplan, Emek, Meir, Carmel, Schneider, and Yoseftal hospitals. The grants will also help Clalit purchase ICU beds, ECMO life-support machines, remote monitoring systems, and personalized protective gear for Clalit's medical staff in those hospitals.

In addition, Helmsley has made emergency grants for COVID-19 facilities at each of the following hospitals:

These emergency grants are part of Helmsley's ongoing efforts to help Israel strengthen its healthcare system across the country.  Over the past decade, Helmsley has awarded more than $340 million to  Israeli institutions to improve access to healthcare, support scientific and medical research, and strengthen the understanding and appreciation of Israel throughout the world. 

"Helping the Israeli people in times of crisis is core to the mission of the Israel Program at the Helmsley Charitable Trust," said Sandor Frankel, a Helmsley Trustee. "Israel is a nation that excels at rapid response in emergencies, but they shouldn't have to do it alone.  Helmsley's support will help Israel's outstanding medical personnel and frontline workers have the equipment and facilities necessary to protect their patients and themselves as they face the COVID-19 crisis. We continue to be involved in responding to the country's emergency needs, and hope our support will galvanize others to help in this critical moment."

"In these unpredictable and unsettling times, we must come together to support each other and those working on the frontlines," said Professor Ehud Davidson, CEO of Clalit Health Services. "Helmsley has been a stalwart supporter of the Israeli people over the past decade, and their support now will undoubtedly save lives in the coming weeks and months."

About the Helmsley Charitable Trust  
The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust aspires to improve lives by supporting exceptional efforts in the U.S. and around the world in health and select place-based initiatives. Since beginning active grantmaking in 2008, Helmsley has committed more than $2.5 billion for a wide range of charitable purposes. For more information on Helmsley and its programs, visit helmsleytrust.org.