Activists and lawmakers often fight to change the world for the better; but for the average person, the most meaningful change in one’s life comes from somewhere else: the medical field.
In a country that regularly touts the heroism of soldiers and rescue services, it’s the hardworking and passionate members of the medical sector that arguably save the most individuals every single day. That’s millions of people whose lives are being made better by doctors, nurses, therapists, and more.
And when it comes to children being helped, the pediatric doctors and nurses are the real heroes, as they can not only make their lives better but give them hope for a brighter future.
Dr. Maurit Beeri is one such hero.
Part of a medical power couple with her husband, Beeri heads the Alyn Orthopedic Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in Jerusalem. Regardless of religion, ethnicity, or nationality, this world-leading hospital treats scores of children and young adults dealing with physical disabilities or injury recovery.
Every child who walks out those doors having been treated and rehabilitated is another child with a whole life ahead – a life filled with more hope and potential than before.
This is the embodiment of tikkun olam – the Jewish concept of changing the world for the better – one child at a time.
In Jerusalem sat down with Dr. Beeri to talk about her work.
What made you want to study medicine?
I always knew I wanted to make an impact. I ended up studying medicine almost by chance. It was intriguing for me because my then-boyfriend – and now my partner in life – was a third-year medical student who always dreamed of being a physician. And I wanted to understand what drove him.
Once I started studying medicine, I knew immediately that my passion was for pediatrics and that treating children would be where I would find myself. But I never thought I would end up dedicating my life to children with special needs and physical disabilities.
What brought you to Alyn hospital?
As part of my medical residency in pediatrics, I was sent to Alyn hospital to do a rotation of six months, and I fell in love with the work.
What drew me to it is the ability to change children’s lives for decades to come. And also the fact that it is a multidisciplinary way of working, where the doctor is coordinating a whole team of people and not in a solitary fashion, or just giving orders around.
What is it like running a children’s hospital in a country like Israel?
Running a hospital in Israel is very much like running any large organization. You have to first of all care for the team, the staff, and push them forward but also assist them. You have to make sure you have enough of a budget to run the institute. But most of all, you have to understand how to dream big and how to create a strategy and work toward it. Now, if you can connect that to treating children, that’s a dream job – and yes, it’s my dream job. I love doing it, I love working with excellent people to promote a better future for children, and I love being able to be efficient and strategic about it.
What is it like running the hospital during war?
During the war, we never stopped providing services even for one day; and every time, we get back to providing therapists for the children as quickly as possible, whether at Alyn hospital or remotely.
Everybody who lives in Jerusalem knows how difficult it is to get to a bomb shelter within 90 seconds. Since October 2023, we’ve had to find ways to get children who use wheelchairs, crutches, are bedridden, or even connected to ventilators, and get them as quickly as possible into shelters.
We built all kinds of innovative solutions to make sure that the kids can get to safety as fast as possible. We have converted some areas of our storage rooms in the underground passageways of the hospital into areas where children can actually be hospitalized. This has taken a lot of attention from developing and enlarging the hospital, and I’m hoping that we can get back to working toward making the lives of children easier every day, all the time.
What’s something about your work that most people may not realize?
People may not realize that Alyn hospital is an optimistic place. It’s a place of hope. It’s a place of dreaming of a better future. People think that because we treat children who have been severely injured or deal with the aftermath of illness and injury that it is a place of suffering. But no.
Once a child sets foot in Alyn, this is where his or her journey for a better life starts, so that we can provide the hope that things from now on will improve. We might not be able to cure the child, but we will definitely be able to assist, help, make sure that life is easier and has a lot of happy moments, and help make dreams come true.
Do you have a favorite moment or anecdote from your career?
Every year, we have a fundraising bike ride called the Alyn Wheels of Love, which takes place in the fall. The last few years, we had a group of kids who underwent rehabilitation and, as part of their healing process, learned how to ride a bike. Now they are riding with our donors and helping us raise money for the kids who need treatment at present. There’s nothing as emotional and exciting as seeing these kids, who went through this journey of finding a way to be a part of society and heal and recover, now fundraising to help other children.
For me, this is really the epitome of successful rehabilitation. So every year, I find myself in tears at the end of the ride ceremony when they come in with their medals.
What advice would you give to anyone aspiring to study medicine in Israel?
First of all, we need people in the medical field, so I would love to tell people that this is the most wonderful job that you can ever do because you’ll be able to save people’s lives, and you’ll be able to make the world a better place and work for tikkun olam.
However, getting to be a doctor in Israel is a very long journey and a very difficult one. So, actually, if I’m honest and true to myself and to my own children, what I want to say is this: Definitely take this road if it is the one thing that will make you happy. But think very carefully if you’re willing to spend 15 years training to be able to be the person who can provide the best care for your patients.
If you’re not willing to dedicate the time and the effort to study hard and become the best doctor you can be, then choose a different way to make the world a better place.