Israel Health Advancement for Women

(ISHA)

Combining medical studies and cultural awareness, the Federation-sponsored ISHA program is a dynamic model for change that emphasizes the need for health care and health promotion for women in Israel.

ISHA (Hebrew for "woman"), a vital initiative of the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland, the Jewish Agency for Israel, and evaluated by the Myers-JDC- Brookdale Institute, brings together health professionals, volunteers, women's health advocates, academics and researchers to significantly advance women's health.

The Federation established a Women's Health Committee in Cleveland comprised of leading physicians, nurses, social workers, allied health care professionals and advocates in the field of women's health. The committee and many others in the Cleveland Jewish community play active roles in the project, traveling to Israel and/or hosting Israeli professionals in Cleveland, resulting in shared learning. ISHA is improving knowledge and detection among practicing physicians, women leaders, patients and other residents throughout Israel.

A project with the Hagam, the women's division of the Israel Defense Forces Education Corps, led to the establishment of a women's health educational program that is now meeting the needs of up to 900 women per year.

Clalit Health Services (Israel's largest HMO) is utilizing ISHA's continuing medical education program for physicians and healthcare professionals. Maccabee Health Services (Israel's second largest HMO) is preparing to do the same.

A "train the trainers" initiative, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, teaches domestic violence screening and assessment techniques to hospital personnel throughout the country. And Enya Lenya, a new initiative in partnership with the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and the United Jewish Israel Appeal of Britain, focuses on the needs of the Ethiopian Falash Mura immigrants in the absorption centers.

Due to the great success of ISHA throughout Israel, new partners have committed to three new initiatives.

•	NA'AMAT has joined the Federation and the Israel Association of Community Centers in a grassroots program to support advocacy and health promotion with a focus on adolescent girls and the issues of relationships and violence.
•	Hadassah is partnering with the Federation to develop a course for nurses who work with newborns and well babies, to teach healthy lifestyle choices to new mothers.
•	The Counseling Center for Women (CCW) is working with the Federation to train professionals in the special treatment modalities of women.

ISHA is making an impact on all levels of society, from the woman in her neighborhood to the physician who has been practicing for many years. This national program affects all segments of Israeli society-immigrants, ultra-Orthodox, Israeli-Arabs, Ethiopian-Israelis, Bedouins, etc.

Report

•  Social Services for Women in Israel