TAU Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences receives $12.67 million grant from Helmsley Trust

A $12.67 million lead grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust will support the creation of the Helmsley Medical Simulation Center at the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at Tel Aviv University. The Center will provide student training for a new generation of medical, dental, and healthcare professionals. The skills learned through simulation training will lead to increased patient safety and improved health outcomes. The grant will be used to plan, build, equip, and begin operating the Center in an existing building on Tel Aviv University’s campus. 

The term “medical education” encompasses many goals, but its key challenge is to teach medical professionals the clinical expertise and communication skills they need to successfully treat patients while managing complex interactions with patients, families, and team members. Managing these sensitive interactions appropriately is critical for ensuring high-quality care and patient safety. In addition, students must practice providing care without causing harm or putting patients at risk. 

The Center will be utilized by 1,400 medical and dental students, 3,000 MDs receiving continuing education at the Center for Continuing Medical Education at Tel Aviv University, and an additional 500 nursing students, physical therapists, occupational therapists, and more. The Center will enable the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences to expand medical training opportunities by revamping medical curricula, prioritizing critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and promoting a holistic patient care approach. Under the supervision of medical faculty members, the Center will include mock doctor-patient encounters featuring either life-like mannequins or actors as patients, as well as an assessment that provides video-based feedback. Such activities will allow trainees to hone their communication and technical skills in a safe and controlled learning environment that is also dynamic and interactive. The Center will implement extended and virtual reality technology and extensive multimedia platforms with a strong research component. 

“We support the people of Israel, and we are committed to supporting Israel’s world-class healthcare services,” said Sandor Frankel, a Trustee of the Helmsley Charitable Trust. “The Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences at Tel Aviv University is a powerhouse of teaching and research in medicine and the health sciences, and we recognize the impact the University will have through providing state-of-the-art medical training for a new generation of students, physicians, nurses, occupational therapists, and other health professionals.”

Previous grants from Helmsley have supported Tel Aviv University’s research on nanomedicines for personalized “theranostics” for cancer, cardiovascular, and inflammatory diseases, and research on advanced communications technology. 

Tel Aviv University President, Prof. Ariel Porat, said, “We are deeply grateful for this vote of confidence by the Helmsley Charitable Trust in our medical faculty, which is the largest and leading one in Israel and among the most advanced in the world. With the visionary Helmsley gift, we will be able to build a major facility that is comprehensive, collaborative, and innovative, and that will bring our medical training to new heights for the benefit of the Israeli people.”

Prof. Karen Avraham, Dean of the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, commented: “Our remarkable team has worked tirelessly in the recent months to bring this dream to reality, Inspired by our former Dean, Prof. Ehud Grossman. At a time when medical and health care is on the verge of transformations in AI and gene and cell therapy, providing competency and compassion remains a priority.”