More Than a Hospital
Just over two weeks after beginning my role as Executive Director of American Friends of ALYN Hospital, I boarded a plane to Israel with my family. The trip had been planned long before I accepted this position, but one stop quickly became the centerpiece of our visit: ALYN Hospital.
We spent only one morning there. It was, in many ways, just a glimpse—a swim in the shallow end of an institution whose depth and impact cannot be fully appreciated in a single visit. Yet that morning profoundly shaped my understanding of the extraordinary privilege and responsibility of representing ALYN.
We began in the respiratory rehabilitation unit, where parents and infants worked alongside therapists with remarkable patience, expertise, and hope. We walked through the school, where teachers were teaching and students were learning in classrooms that looked much like any other school day. The difference was that every space had been thoughtfully designed so children and young adults of all abilities could learn, grow, and thrive.
One memory from that morning has stayed with me more than any other.
As we walked from the therapy wing toward the school, I noticed a teacher wearing an abaya, the traditional robe worn by many Muslim women, gently holding the hand of a young boy with a kippah and payot. They walked quietly together toward the classroom. There was an unmistakable tenderness in the way she guided him and complete trust in the way he walked beside her.
No one around them seemed to notice. It was simply another moment in another day at ALYN.
But it has remained with me because it captures something essential about this remarkable place. It was a moment of care, trust, and dignity—a reminder that at the heart of ALYN is something deeply human: people caring for one another.
Throughout the hospital, we met physicians, therapists, educators, nurses, engineers, technicians, and families from across Israel’s diverse communities, all united by a shared purpose: helping children live fuller, more independent lives.That same spirit was evident in ALYN’s Innovation Space, where clinicians, engineers, scientists, and technicians work together to develop solutions that change lives. Some innovations are designed for one child with one unique challenge. Others have the potential to improve the lives of people with disabilities around the world. Each begins with the same question: What does this child need, and how can we help?
I left ALYN that day with a deeper understanding of what makes this institution so exceptional. ALYN is more than a hospital. It is a place where medicine, education, rehabilitation, and innovation come together with compassion at their core. It is a place where children are seen not for their limitations, but for their possibilities.
As I begin this new role, I am honored to help share ALYN’s story. This is a story of dedication, ingenuity, and hope—one that deserves to be known far beyond the walls of the hospital.
I left Jerusalem with tremendous gratitude, a renewed sense of purpose, and immense pride in representing an institution that is helping redefine what is possible for children and families from Israel and around the world.
Thank you for being part of the community that makes this life-changing work possible.
