Sheba Medical Center has opened Israel’s only protected hyperbaric medicine center, a new underground facility designed to provide advanced oxygen therapy to patients from across the country, including wounded soldiers and civilians.
The center, named for Michal and Dr. Avraham Kedar, was established with a donation of about 22 million shekels from the Kedar family. It is located at Sheba’s Rehabilitation Hospital in Tel Hashomer and has begun receiving its first patients from Sheba and other hospitals.
The new facility includes two advanced hyperbaric chambers, among the largest of their kind in Israel, allowing up to 24 patients to be treated at the same time. Because it is located underground, Sheba said it is the only protected hyperbaric chamber facility in Israel, enabling continuity of care during emergencies.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves breathing high concentrations of oxygen in a pressurized chamber. The treatment increases oxygen delivery to body tissues and is used for a range of medical conditions, including complex wounds, radiation damage, diabetes-related complications, severe infections and chronic wounds. In some cases, it can help prevent amputations and save lives.
Sheba said the new center will serve as a national referral hub for hyperbaric medicine and is expected to become part of future research activity in the field. The hospital said the facility is part of its broader effort to expand rehabilitation care during the war, as it continues to treat and rehabilitate wounded soldiers and civilians.
The center also marks a new area of philanthropic activity for Michal and Dr. Avraham Kedar, a physician-scientist by training. The family has focused on advancing excellence and innovation in Israel in education and culture, and is now expanding that work into public health. After meeting wounded soldiers, the Kedars said they recognized an urgent need for advanced medical infrastructure to support both soldiers and civilians.
“We see it as a great privilege to partner with Sheba and take part in establishing an advanced medical center that is expected to improve the lives of many patients,” Michal and Dr. Avraham Kedar said. “We believe that combining medical innovation, clinical excellence and human mission is a way to create broad and lasting impact on Israeli society and its resilience.”
Prof. Amitai Ziv, director of Sheba’s Rehabilitation Hospital, said the new center would expand Sheba’s ability to provide multidisciplinary care.
“The establishment of the center at Sheba allows us to continue providing broad, comprehensive, precise and multidisciplinary care to patients, alongside research development in the field,” Ziv said. “We thank Michal and Dr. Avraham Kedar for their partnership and extraordinary donation, which has enabled us to provide the best possible response for our patients.”
Prof. Yitshak Kreiss, director general of Sheba Medical Center, said the center would serve patients nationwide.
“In today’s changing reality, our role is to be a beacon of stability and excellence,” Kreiss said. “Our mission goes beyond clinical care; it is about breakthrough thinking and building social and national resilience. The new national center will serve as an anchor for the home front and provide advanced medical care to patients from across the country. Thanks to partners like the Kedar family, we will continue to make an impact and serve as a source of hope for Israeli society.”