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MEITIV - Home Care Center for Children With Cancer |
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"Meitiv" is a unique Ezra Lemarpeh project, intended to enable the sick child to remain at home while he is coping with the disease.
 This project is mainly designated for children with cancer, who must undergo lengthy treatments. This can almost break up the family unit, since the parents must stay with their child at the hospital for long periods of time at a stretch, which obviously disrupts the daily routine at home.
In addition, these sick children, with weakened immune systems, are more vulnerable to contracting other diseases, and staying in the hospital exposes them to numerous dangers of infection. Thanks to this program, the danger can be avoided, by removing the child from this environment.
With time, children with other chronic diseases joined the project, in view of its success and the great benefit that it gives to the young patients.
The diseases included in this project are genetic diseases such as Familial Disautonomy (F.D.), Cystic Fibrosis, Gaucher, auto-immune diseases, chronic heart diseases, etc.
 The decision to establish the "Meitiv" Project was reached after having created the framework that enables the sick child to remain at home, without detracting from the quality of treatments and medical surveillance that he needs. This was achieved by creating a sort of mini-hospital at home, with all the necessary medical equipment, as well as it being a suitable environment that fulfills all of the sick child's needs.
This framework is operated with full medical backing from the staff at the Hemato-oncology Department in Tel Hashomer, under the supervision of Professor Gidi Harkavi, and 24-hour a day accompaniment by the department nurses and social workers.
The medical treatment and equipment are adapted to each and every child, according to his individual needs. In addition, an educational program is planned for each child, in order to enrich their world and compensate them for many missed days of school, and also to occupy them during the long hours that they spend in bed.
 We must point out that there is almost never a case where we need the entire list of equipment for one single child; each case is treated individually, according to the child's specific needs. However, the entire range of equipment has already come into use with the sick children.
As for the organized recreational activities for the children: Here, too, everything is suited to each and every child's individual needs, with no two cases being alike. Therefore, the activity that is being described includes the entire range of suggested activities, which are then tailored to suit every child.
The project has been in operation for quite a few years years, and has already proven how worthwhile the great investment has been, and how much relief it brings to the families who must cope with the prolonged care for a sick child. |
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