The Jerusalem District Planning and Building Committee, headed by Shira Talmi Babay, decided yesterday (Tuesday) to approve the plan for establishing a hospital in Beit Shemesh. The plan covers an area of 180 dunams in the southern part of the city and is expected to serve the residents of Beit Shemesh and the entire region. This will be the first hospital in the city, which currently relies on Hadassah Beit Shemesh Medical Center, operating under Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem but located within the Na’ami Mall complex in the city.
The plan, submitted by the Beit Shemesh Municipality, includes approximately 770 beds to serve a population of half a million residents in the city as well as the Mateh Yehuda region. The plan features five buildings housing inpatient wards, an emergency hospital, medical services, clinics, medical institutes, laboratories, buildings for medical research and training, a hotel for patients’ families, helicopter landing pads, and more.
Shira Talmi-Babay, chair of the Jerusalem District Committee, stated, “In addition to the establishment of another public hospital in Israel, which is a significant development for the city’s residents and the region, this hospital will accelerate the economic growth of Beit Shemesh and strengthen its status and population size to reach the goal of half a million residents.”
Dan Keinan, Jerusalem District Planner at the Planning Administration, commented, “The plan is a significant component of a national planning vision that marks another step in implementing Israel’s public medical infrastructure. This plan is expected to create a high-quality hub for employment, local commerce, and medical research, which will contribute to developing Beit Shemesh as a fully-fledged city and expand various services available to its residents.”
Last month, the National Planning and Building Council submitted the National Outline Plan for Healthcare Institutions (Tama 20/1) for government approval. The plan, advanced by the Planning Administration and the Ministry of Health, outlines the distribution of healthcare and hospitalization facilities by 2050 to ensure the allocation of land for new hospitals, addressing the population’s needs, including geriatric hospitalization services.
Israel’s population is expected to grow to approximately 15 million by 2050, with a significant increase in the elderly population due to rising life expectancy. The allocation of land for healthcare institutions is based on demand forecasts for medical services derived from the population size, geographical distribution, and age demographics in each region.
The plan includes the establishment of eight new hospitals in Karmiel, Hod Hasharon, Harish, Tzomet Galam, Netanya, Modiin, Be’er Sheva, and Kiryat Gat (as an expansion of Ichilov Hospital). Additionally, existing hospitals will undergo significant expansion. The plan also reserves land for approximately 20 new geriatric hospitals, quadrupling the current capacity, to be built in locations such as Dimona, Netivot, and Kafr Qara in response to the projected increase in the elderly population, which is expected to reach 1.66 million by 2035.
Furthermore, the plan includes three new rehabilitation hospitals in Katzrin, Karmiel, and Be’er Sheva (as part of the Peres Center), as well as ten emergency medical centers to be built in underserved northern and southern areas where no adequate medical services are currently available within a reasonable timeframe, including Katzrin, Kiryat Shmona, and Mitzpe Ramon.
