The
Hospital's
Purpose
At Holy Family Hospital of Bethlehem, caring for mothers and babies is the way to peace and understanding in a country in crisis. And no mother is every turned away.
The hospital serves as a maternity and critical care facility for Bethlehem and surrounding areas, and is known for compassionate high-quality care and a preference for the poor. Half of the patients are refugees. It provides the maternity care and delivery needs of Holy Land families regardless of their ability to pay and it is the only hospital in the region that can deliver and care for babies born before 34 weeks. It regularly treats babies as small as one pound and other high-risk pregnancies.
Hope, peace, life, and love.
We invite you to watch this video, and listen to firsthand accounts from the dedicated staff about the life-changing effects the hospital has on those who need it most.
The Hospital's Services
Prenatal
Comprehensive prenatal care is essential to any healthy pregnancy. Unfortunately, few expectant mothers in the Holy Land have access to prenatal care, and many will not see a healthcare professional until they enter a hospital in labor. This poses great risks to both mother and baby.
Holy Family Hospital offers comprehensive prenatal care services to expectant mothers at a reduced cost. The Hospital offers all exams, lab tests, and prenatal vitamins necessary to a healthy pregnancy.
Holy Family Hospital has played a critical role in increasing availability of routine prenatal care for pregnant women in the Holy Land. Our dedicated clinicians and staff continue to help reduce maternal death, miscarriage, and infant mortality rates among Bethlehem’s most vulnerable populations.
Delivery
In January 2023, Holy Family Hospital celebrated delivering its 100,000th baby! The hospital delivers approximately 70 percent of all Bethlehem infants, maintaining a survival rate of nearly 100 percent. It is the only hospital in the region medically equipped to deliver babies born before 34 weeks and regularly treats babies as small as one pound. Doctors and midwives fight to save every mother and baby, demonstrating a commitment to life that is absolute.
The seven private delivery rooms can accommodate up to 20 deliveries in a 24-hour period and the nursery can accommodate 28 babies at a time.
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
The hospital operates an 18-bed level III NICU which cares for premature newborns, including a subset of these fragile infants known as “micro-preemies” who weigh as little as 16 ounces at birth. Care for these babies is highly resource-intensive, requiring lifesaving support and transfers to partner hospitals for specialized surgical procedures.
These babies receive the highest level of care including screening and care for retinopathy, striving for the best future for the babies.
Holy Family Hospital operates the only NICU in the Bethlehem region equipped to deliver and save babies born before 34 weeks and regularly treats babies as small as one pound. Watching these incredibly fragile babies grow to a healthy weight in the care of the NICU team is beyond comprehension.
To bring such a fragile life through the NICU, and healthily into their families, bears a significant cost. You can provide care for one of these precious lives.
Mobile Clinic
Holy Family Hospital launched its Mobile Outreach Clinic in 1995 with the objective to provide access to obstetric, gynecological, and pediatric care to those who would otherwise go without.
Today, the Mobile Clinic runs daily and treats refugees and villagers from remote and isolated communities. The Clinic (staffed by an OB/GYN, a pediatrician, a nurse, and a driver) offers a range of services including pre- and postnatal exams, lab tests, and gynecological/cancer screenings, all from within a state-of-the-art mobile van. The pediatrician cares for young children and newborns, and refers those with severe illness or developmental disabilities to receive specialized care. Periodically, a second OB/GYN accompanies the Clinic team to address the medical needs of postmenopausal women — a severely underserved population in the Holy Land.
Well Woman Clinic
In 2013, Holy Family Hospital launched its Well Woman Clinic dedicated to meeting the complex healthcare needs of women past childbearing age. The first of its kind in the region, it offers women postmenopausal health services, including routine screenings, gynecological surgeries, diabetes diagnostics and treatment, and cancer screenings. The Foundation subsidizes all Clinic visits by at least 50% and the initial visit is always free of charge to the patient.
In addition to operating at Holy Family Hospital, the Well Woman Clinic doctor regularly accompanies the Mobile Clinic to meet with the many women who cannot afford to travel to Bethlehem.
While initially, women were reluctant to seek treatment, outreach by Hospital staff has had a significant effect in bolstering patient trust and participation. The Well Woman clinic restores the dignity of women.
Diabetes Clinic
The Bethlehem region is currently battling a longstanding diabetes epidemic that affects an estimated 15% of the local population (compared to a global average of 5%). Incidence of the disease is even higher among refugees. Diabetes is especially dangerous for expectant mothers, as it can increase their risk of pregnancy complications, birth defects, preterm birth, and miscarriage.
At this time, nearly half of all Diabetes Clinic patients are referred to Holy Family Hospital by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency or the local ministry of health.
The Diabetes Clinic screens every woman for diabetes during prenatal exams and offers a range of monitoring and treatment options for those who are diagnosed. Approximately 80% of women treated at the Clinic successfully manage their diabetes with proper diet alone, and are able to avoid insulin therapy. Perhaps the strongest evidence of the Clinic’s success can be seen in the 5% decrease in the number of newborns admitted to the Hospital’s NICU since the Clinic’s inception.
Advanced Medical Education
The Holy Family Hospital works to raise its standard of care and to meet acute needs in a place where the mortality rate of mothers and newborns is five times of that in the West.
Since the West Bank has no institutions for advanced medical education, Holy Family Hospital instituted a program of continuing medical education in 1995.
Relationships with major medical centers in the West, such as the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin, Hospital Saint Vincent DePaul in Paris, and the University of Liege in Belgium, allow for the training of resident doctors, nurses, and midwives from Holy Family Hospital in those institutions. These relationships also bring renowned medical professionals from these Western institutions to the Hospital as visiting professors to teach and assess medical and administrative practice.
Operating Theaters
Renovation & Expansion
Holy Family Hospital in Bethlehem has experienced rapid growth in demand for patient services over the course of the past ten years. The hospital is the region’s medical care facility of choice for premature and fragile babies, expectant mothers, women over the age of 45, and women seeking outpatient care clinics.
The total area being added to the hospital’s existing wing is 13,000 square feet. The updated wing will implement modern energy-saving technology and equipment.
The expansion and renovation of the surgical wing will create two new state-of-the-art operating theaters equipped for lifesaving emergency C-sections, scheduled C-sections, and a variety of OB/GYN surgeries. The project will also include private recovery suites to monitor post-surgery patients and an on-site pharmacy to dispense needed supplies and pharmaceuticals.
The renovation and expansion of the surgical wing will ensure that Holy Family Hospital’s medical capabilities remain on par with international standards and enable the hospital to meet the increase in services to keep pace with the growing needs of Bethlehem families.