We’re always proud to talk about Santé Israël, the go-to website for information in French about the Israeli health system. Nowadays it is much more than a website – with a free consultation service and French-speaking volunteers who help on-site the navigate the Israeli healthcare system.

And we even prouder to see them in print, this time in the French edition of the Times of Israel. For the link to the article, click here.

Here’s the text of the article in French:

La fondation Pharmadom, et d’autres organisations telles que le Centre Interculturel de Jérusalem en collaboration avec la fondation Rashi ont participé ont lancé un site gratuit permettant aux francophones de s’orienter simplement dans le système de santé israélien.

Un système qui peut s’avérer un peu déroutant pour les nouveaux immigrants français.

Exemple, alors qu’en France la Caisse primaire d’assurance maladie (CPAM) regroupe les différents remboursements des services de santé, en Israël ce service est divisé en quatre caisses de santé (Kupat Holim, en hébreu). Et chacune de ces caisses possède ces centres de santé qui regroupent médecins, spécialistes et pharmacie.

« Trouver un centre médical d’urgence ou un médecin et préparer sa visite, localiser des services de santé français, se renseigner sur les équivalences des médicaments en France et en Israël, déchiffrer une ordonnance, trouver une pharmacie ou encore se renseigner sur la couverture des caisses sont autant d’interrogations auxquelles le site répond à travers des pages et des rubriques faciles d’accès, » affirme Pharmadom.

Le site permet également d’aider à trouver un praticien francophone en Israël.

Créée en 2003 à l’initiative de pharmaciens, la fondation Pharmadom, sous l’égide de la Fondation du judaïsme français, aide « les populations fragiles en facilitant l’accès aux soins en France et en Israël ». Elle soutient notamment financièrement depuis mai 2016 à Haïfa le Pharmadom Vision Center, qui vient en aide à des malvoyants.

Many thanks to the Pharmadom and Rashi Foundations for their continued support of Santé Israël.

On September 10, Santé Israël went to the fair. This time it was a Neighborhood Fair for social action on Emek Refaim St., produced by the Ginot Ha’ir community center. The fair featured performances for children and adults, jam sessions, a pop-up garden, and a slew of information desks from a range of social action projects. (You can see a map of the festival, in Hebrew, here.)

Marie at the Santé Israël desk

Marie Avigad, Santé Israël Project Manager, was there to present the Santé Israël web site. She also distributed information about the health system in Israel – similarities and differences from France, employment opportunities and issues, and more.

Here’s the post by Santé Israël:

And here’s a movie live from the event:

Qualita offered Santé Israël the opportunity to take part in this event. This umbrella organization for French-speaking immigrants in Israel was close by, and took more pictures of the fair. Here’s their post (in French):

Looks like the fair was a lot of fun and very very successful.

Many thanks to the Pharmadom and Rashi Foundations for their continued support of Santé Israël.

There are many French-speaking associations and professionals to help the Francophone immigrants in the city. However, only one – Santé Israël – has a comprehensive view of all health-care issues, and how they specifically affect Jerusalem’s French-speaking population.

French speaking health care fair at Ginot Ha’Ir Community Council

For this reason, Santé Israël, together with the Ginot Ha’Ir Community Center, the Municipal Absorption Authority, and others, held a “Health in French” happening at the Ginot Ha’ir Community Center on May 22.

Proper brushing – very important!

The event presented a number of associations and professionals for French-speaking immigrants, as well as activities for all ages. Magen David Adom was there with an ambulance, distributing information and presenting a first aid seminar. The different HMO’s were there, presenting the different services they offer for French speakers. Representatives of the municipal health services such as a local well-baby clinic and dental clinic, French-speaking opticians, the French Pharmacy, and a range of alternative therapy practitioners were also on hand to demonstrate their techniques. Representatives of immigrant organizations were there as well for further assistance. The children enjoyed jumpy castles, large bubbles and games run by the Jerusalem Lions football club.

Magen David Adom – in French too!

Some 50 members of the Pharmadom Foundation came to the fair as part of their annual visit to Israel. They met and mingled with the professionals as well as with participants.

In preparation for the event, Santé Israël Director, Marie Avigad, was interviewed on the Radio Studio Qualita. Here she spoke about the work of Santé Israël, and the upcoming event:

Here’s the post (in French) about the event:

Many thanks to the to the Pharmadom Foundation and the Rashi Foundation for their continuing support of Santé Israël.

It was a pleasant surprise – 106 entrances to the Santé Israël French-language web site on Sunday, February 12, 2017. But why?

And then it became obvious….

Presenting Santé Israël in Tel Aviv

Santé Israël’s director, Marie Avigad, had held a meeting with about 30 French-speaking new immigrants, organized by the immigrant absorption officials at the Tel Aviv municipality. They asked questions about the different HMO’s, supplementary HMO coverage, and private insurance. They also asked what to do and to whom to turn during an emergency, how to reach a specialist, which forms different HMO’s need, how to understand what’s going on in a hospital, and more.

Discussing a range of health care issues

As the numbers show, the presentation hit a nerve. Thank you Santé Israël for your hard work, and the vast amount of information you make available to French-speakers in Israel. Many thanks to the to the Pharmadom Foundation and the Rashi Foundation for their continuing support of Santé Israël.

Many thanks to Céline and Nicole for organizing the meeting!

Here’s the Facebook post about the meeting: