Photo Essay: “A Vital Ministry”
A delegation from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) visited the Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem on 12 January 2015. Accompanied by the hospital’s Chief executive officer Dr Tawfiq Nasser and Rev. Mark Brown, LWF Country representative Jerusalem, the delegation visited several upgraded departments and the AVH Specialized Center for Child Care.
The AVH Radiology Department was renovated and upgraded in 2013, greatly improving the hospital's diagnostic and therapeutic capacities. Also, the AVH Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Department expanded its diagnostic capacities in 2014 with equipment provided by USAID. The lab now provides very specialized laboratory services, making it one of the foremost medical laboratories in the region.
The AVH Specialized Center for Child Care consists among others of the hospital's Pediatric Dialysis Clinic and Pediatric Oncology Unit. AVH is the only cancer facility for residents of the West Bank and Gaza.
"Augusta Victoria Hospital is a vital ministry. It is of great importance to the Palestinian people, providing services that are not available in other places. It's something that the Lutheran World Federation and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are committed to supporting, have been, are now, and always will be", ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton said at the end of her visit.
21 January 2015
Photos: D. Hudson/ ELCJHL
From left: Head of ELCA Global Mission Raphael Malpicca-Paddila, Dr Tawfiq Nasser, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, Rev. Mark B. Brown and ELCA Global Mission Area Program Director for Europe, Middle East, and North Africa right Rev. Cindy Halmarson visited Augusta Victoria Hospital on Monday, January 12th, 2015.
AVH Chief Executive Officer Dr Tawfiq Nasser and Pres. ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton discuss the upgrades on the AVH radiology unit in 2014.
Dr Tawfiq Nassar explains the use and benefits of the medical linear accelerator, donated by USAID. This radiation therapy system strengthened the role of AVH as a comprehensive cancer treatment center and reduced the cost of cancer treatment by lessening referrals abroad.
The delegation also visited the AVH Specialized Center for Child Care where the hospital's Pediatric Dialysis Clinic and Pediatric Oncology Unit are located. Children from all corners of the West Bank come to AVH for kidney dialysis. The Pediatric Oncology Unit receives children from Gaza as well as the West Bank.
Dr Tawfiq Nassar and ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton comfort a child from Gaza who is receiving chemotherapy in the pediatric cancer unit.
Dr Tawfiq Nassar and ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton greet children in the pediatric cancer unit. Augusta Victoria Hospital is the only cancer facility for residents of the West Bank and Gaza.
The delegation meeting staff in the Pediatric Dialysis Clinic and Pediatric Oncology Unit of AVH. More than 300 staff work in the hospital which was founded in 1950.
"Augusta Victoria Hospital is a vital ministry” Bishop Eaton said. “It is something that the Lutheran World Federation and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are committed to supporting, have been, are now, and always will be."
