USAID funds construction of new maternity floor
at the Holy Family Hospital

Source: US Agency for International Development
October 11th, 2006

With funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Holy Family Hospital of Bethlehem launched construction of an additional floor to serve Palestinian patients. The new floor will include a new maternity ward with delivery rooms and an emergency operating room, as well as a maternal intensive care unit. The expansion of the Holy Family Hospital is part of a three-year $3.5-million USAID project to expand access to quality maternal and neonatal healthcare for Palestinians in the Bethlehem area.

Dr. Robert Tabash, the Hospital's Director of Administration, noted that "With the American people's generous support, we will expand the hospital's emergency department services, renovate a larger nursery, create a day care center, and send doctors and nurses abroad for training in advanced medical care for high-risk newborns and pregnancies, and laparoscopic surgical procedures for faster patient recovery.”

Holy Family Hospital is the primary maternity care center in the southern West Bank. Nearly one third of the area's babies are born there. Due to the quality of its facilities and medical staff, infant mortality rates at Holy Family Hospital are significantly below those at other West Bank and Gaza hospitals, and are among the lowest in the world.

Dr. Howard Sumka, USAID/WBG Mission Director, who visited the hospital today, said the cooperative agreement with Holy Family Hospital recognizes it as a leading provider of quality maternal healthcare in the area.

USAID has spent more than $1.7 billion in the West Bank and Gaza to combat poverty, create jobs, improve education, build roads and water systems, construct and equip medical clinics, and promote good governance.