cover 2006

Soroka University Medical Center
and anyone from Yerucham who
needs to be hospitalized comes
straight to my Department. I always
try to stop by and check up on ‘my’
patients and show that the human
touch is most important of all.”
Boehm is still very much involved
in the community.
“For the last nine years, we have
involved our medical students in
three community volunteer
projects,” he says proudly. “Some of
our medical students give a Magen
David Adom first-aid course to high
school students in Yerucham. They
learn first aid, of course, but in
addition, they absorb the values of
community volunteerism. Some of
them continue on to serve as medics
in the army. Some of the medical
students, meanwhile, go on to do
residencies in internal medicine in
my Department. Everyone benefits.
“Other medical students operate
an afternoon ‘health education play
room’ in the Yerucham clinics. They
take advantage of the time when
children wait to be seen by their
pediatricians to teach them aspects
of health education such as hygiene,
dealing with summer/winter bugs,
and other topics.
“The average family physician in
the health fund is effectively limited
to about 7-10 minutes to devote to
each patient and this is often
inadequate, so we have four
rotating students who sit with
chronic patients and offer
guidance.”
In summary, Boehm has attained
the impressive achievement of
adding three levels of medical
personnel to Yerucham: students
and residents, as well as full-fledged
senior physicians. All are involved
in the town and many students
continue to be involved in
community medicine.
In addition, he oversees a Senior
Citizen’s Association that operates
a day care center for handicapped
elderly, who are transported from
their homes and back, bathed and
fed and kept busy in activities.
Another project is an after-school
community center for children with
a wide variety of disabilities. The
care-givers provide food and
activities adapted to each child and
teach the children life-skills. This has
been a big success: six graduates of
this center live together in an
independent apartment and work
in a rehab center.
For Boehm, volunteerism and
community involvement are a way
of life. The recipient of the 2005
Volunteer of the Year Award from
Lions Clubs International sums up
his life work with two very different
phrases: “A society is judged by its
treatment of its weakest members,”
and also: “I truly love the town of
Yerucham and its community and I
don’t feel that I am sacrificing
anything by being involved.”
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