A special dinner was held in Los Angeles last week in honor of the cardiology department of Laniado Hospital. The keynote speaker at the event was attorney Ben Brafman. During the event, the Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to the senior cardiologist – renowned heart surgeon Dr. Hillel Lex, and the letter of kindness was awarded on behalf of the founder of the Friends of Laniado Association in Los Angeles to Dr. Ivor Geft and his wife Liba.
Not every day a criminal attorney, an internationally renowned heart surgeon, a senior cardiologist and a public figure with a decades-long record of public action appear on the same stage. Last week, in the prestigious event hall at the Holocaust Museum in Los Angeles, approximately 250 men and women gathered for a dinner in honor of the cardiology department of Laniado Hospital – the department that serves about half a million residents of the city of Netanya and the Sharon area in life-threatening emergency situations and treats chronic heart diseases. The department currently contains a cardiology intensive care unit, an intermediate care unit, a cardiology unit, a catheterization room, an echo unit and a set of outpatient clinics. The department employs dozens of staff members specializing in cardiology.
The Jewish community of Los Angeles gathered last week for a dinner. The keynote speaker at the event was attorney Ben Brafman, one of the famous criminal lawyers in the USA on the subject of the relationship between giving, mission and resurrection from personal disaster situations by setting a vision that is meaningful to the entire public. Attorney Brafman Placed the image of the founder of Laniado Hospital as a role model who experienced a terrible personal tragedy, lost his wife and eleven children in the Holocaust, but chose to dedicate his life to working for the public in the establishment of Laniado Hospital.
In the course of the event, a lifetime achievement award was presented to Dr. Hillel Lex, the renowned cardiologist who was the first heart surgeon in California to implant a heart in a child’s body. Dr. Lex recently toured the cardiology department at Laniado Hospital and was impressed by the extensive clinical work, the advanced equipment and the vision for the continued development of the department in the coming years. Dr. Lex thanked for the honor bestowed upon him and said during the event: “The honor I am privileged to receive from the administration of Laniado Hospital flatters me personally. But, I’m not here for the honor. Thank God at the age of 80 I no longer need such honor. I am here to say to each and every one of you – join me in guarding the heart of Laniado Hospital, join me in order to save the lives of many patients in the Land of Israel, in the city of Netanya and the Sharon area”.
In addition, Dr. Ivor Geft and his wife Liba were awarded the letter of kindness. The Geft couple received the letter of kindness on behalf of the late Stanley Diller, founder of the Friends of Laniado Association in Los Angeles decades ago. The activity of the association in the city enabled the development and promotion of the hospital in a very wide variety of fields. Today, the Geft couple continues to engage in public activities and the management of Laniado Hospital saw fit to award them the sign of community involvement for the common good and intensive and fruitful daily acts of kindness during many years.
The event was summed up by Mr. Meir Mark, VP of Resource Development and External Relations of Laniado Hospital: “I came here in person to honor two dear people, our partners in the clinical work for about half a million residents of Netanya and Sharon. We see the Los Angeles community as a true partner in our daily work. I would like to thank all of you for your arrival and your generous contribution”.
The event was produced and managed by Chaim Sternthal, West Coast Resource Development Manager
of Laniado.
