A strategic cooperation agreement, reportedly for the study of gynecology and pelvic floor health, has been signed between Laniado Hospital in Netanya and two hospitals in Yangzhou Province, China.

The two hospitals, NJPH and HFPH, reportedly serve about 20 million residents in Yangzhou province. A Chinese delegation to Israel, which included the presidents of the two hospitals as well as department managers and personnel, was received by Laniado’s management, headed by its director-general Nadav Chen; medical director Prof. Zvi Shimoni; the director of the pelvic-floor unit Prof. Mark Beer Gabel; the director of the gynecology and obstetrics department Dr. Yael Melamed Yekel; and other department managers.

The strategic cooperation agreement was signed on behalf of the Chinese delegation by Xu Daoling, president of NJPH Hospital, and Xu Keping, president of HFPH Hospital.

Beer Gabel, who initiated the strategic cooperation agreement, has an international reputation in his field and often goes to China to share his extensive knowledge with colleagues in the fields of gynecology, surgery, and more. The cooperation agreement deals with a wide range of issues including exchanges of clinical delegations and knowledge sharing. The agreement will promote cooperation that will benefit the health and well-being of millions of Chinese citizens, as well as that of some 500,000 residents of Netanya and the Sharon region.

Members of the Chinese delegation toured obstetric emergency and delivery rooms and were interested in clinical procedures. The Chinese parliament will soon allow couples to have three children. At present, they can have a maximum of two, but the decline in the birth rate is leading to a change in the law. The predicted increased birth rate in China is leading to greater attention being placed on women’s health and on pelvic health specifically.

The delegation also toured the surgical department, where a comprehensive discussion was held on the topic of cooperation between gynecologists and surgeons on pelvic-floor issues.

Beer Gabel said: “This is a collaboration that started in the field of the pelvic floor, but we believe that it will expand to other clinical disciplines. The Chinese physicians have already spent an entire month undergoing training at Laniado, as this specialty is very important for Chinese women. However, Chinese men also need different treatments in the field of the pelvic floor.”

Laniado director Chen thanked the presidents of the Chinese hospitals for their arrival and the agreement that was signed, saying: “The professional connections that Prof. Beer Gabel developed with Chinese colleagues allowed us to reveal Laniado’s knowledge and experience, mainly in the field of obstetrics and gynecology, to hospital teams in China. We will continue to deepen and develop this cooperation, alongside other international cooperation agreements.”

Published by Judy Siegel-Itzkovich on Jerusalem Post: SEPTEMBER 3, 2023

Photo: Prof. Mark Beer Gabel (middle) with the two Chinese hospital directors. (credit: LANIADO HOSPITAL)