Assaf HaRofeh Medical Center named after Assaf Ben Brachiahu and located in Rishon LeZion and Be'er Ya'akov is the third biggest medical center in the public health care system of Israel providing medical services to about 500,000 patients.
In 2010, the hospital had a total of 797 beds, including 686 beds for general hospitalization, 126 beds for day hospitalization, 64 beds for newborns, and 80 geriatric beds. The Medical Center spread over an area of 300 hectares incorporates a wide system counting a dozen of various medical entities, institutes, departments, and clinics, as well as the Institute of Forensic Medicine attached to it. Assaf HaRofeh Hospital offers a wide range of health care services, except for cardiac surgery and organ transplantation.
The history of Assaf HaRofeh Medical Center begins from the Ottoman Empire time. In 1912, on a territory of the Sarfand military base (now Zrifin), a military hospital was founded. At the end of World War I, after the conquest of Israel by British troops, the hospital was under control of the British mandate. Under the British mandate, the hospital provided medical services to the British Air Forces and had about 100 beds. In 1948, upon the order of the Military Medical Command, Assaf HaRofeh Hospital was closed. The hospital was closed and the camp movement was settled on its territory.
On July 14, 1948 medical administration personnel of the recently founded State of Israel applied to the General Staff with a request on hospital foundation. On September 9, 1948 the temporary hospital in Petach-Tikva was closed and its staff moved to Sarfand in order to prepare the hospital for admission of patients. On September 24, 1948, by the order of Dr. Haim Shiber, Commander-in-Chief of the Israeli Medical Forces, the training base and transit camp as well as the school for medical personnel were transferred to the health care service. On October 20, 1948 Dr. Leo Zidenber was appointed the Chief Executive of Assaf HaRofeh Hospital for 100 beds. At the end of the same month, 150 beds were added, including 30 beds for girl soldiers. The hospital was intended for patients capable of taking care of themselves as well as patients after orthopedic and surgical operations evacuated from other hospitals.
On February 13, 1949 Sarafanda Hospital opened a psychiatric department. On March 1, 1949 the hospital merged with Hospital No. 8 (Bilu) formin the united medical center Sarfanda. Captain of Medical Service Dr. Moshe Erno Linfeld was appointed its Chief Executive.
On September 16, 1949, the Ministry of Health accepted the hospital into the system of Israeli Public hospitals. Following the tradition to name hospitals after health care professionals from the Jewish history, the hospital was named Assaf HaRofeh in 1952.
Nowadays, like in other hospitals in Israel, a mall (Assaf Kanyon) and a hotel have been built on the territory of the hospital.
At the Research and Academic Center functioning at the hospital, medical students, nurses, physiotherapists and radiologists are trained at the medical campus and University.
Medical students from Tel Aviv University study and get training at the Academic Center at a regular basis. The Center is engaged in basic and clinical research and every year publishes about 150 original research papers in scientific magazines in Israel and abroad. In addition, the Academic Center operates the Pedagogical Committee, Scientific Research Committee, University Commission, Commission for Students' Training, Helsinki Commission, Quality Control and Risk Management Commission.
The schools of the Academic Medical Center are closely related to the Sackler School of Medicine of the Tel Aviv University. Three schools from different health care spheres are functioning at the Medical Center:
Nursing School in cooperation with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Physiotherapy School in cooperation with the Tel Aviv University.
School of Radiologists in cooperation with Bar Ilan University.