:''(not to be confused with
Elena Kagan, a 1960 b. American jurist)''
Helena Kagan ( he, הלנה כגן; September 25, 1889,
Tashkent
Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of 2 ...
,
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
– August 22, 1978,
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
) was a physician, an Israeli pioneer in pediatrics, active in Jerusalem. She was responsible for the expansion of health care in
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
. Working under the auspices of the
Hadassah organization, she gave treatment to generations of local children regardless of their parents' religious affiliation.
Biography
Helena Kagan was born in
Tashkent
Tashkent (, uz, Toshkent, Тошкент/, ) (from russian: Ташкент), or Toshkent (; ), also historically known as Chach is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of 2 ...
,
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...
,
to Moshe and Miriam Kagan, a Jewish couple from
Riga. They also had one son named Noach.
When her father, an engineer, refused to convert to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
he lost his job. However, her parents managed to pay the school tuition for Helena and her older brother, and they graduated in 1905.
Kagan studied piano at the
Musikschule Konservatorium Bern and Medicine at the
University of Bern
The University of Bern (german: Universität Bern, french: Université de Berne, la, Universitas Bernensis) is a university in the Swiss capital of Bern and was founded in 1834. It is regulated and financed by the Canton of Bern. It is a compreh ...
,
graduating in 1910, and specializing in Bern as a
paediatrician
Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...
.
In 1936, Kagan married Emil Hauser, a violinist who was a member of the
Budapest String Quartet
The Budapest String Quartet was a string quartet in existence from 1917 to 1967. It originally consisted of three Hungarians and a Dutchman; at the end, the quartet consisted of four Russians. A number of recordings were made for HMV/Victor t ...
and founded the
Palestine Conservatory of Music in Jerusalem. Kagan died childless on August 22, 1978.
Medical career
In the spring of 1914, Kagan, moved to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
. Unable to obtain a license to practice medicine, decided to open a clinic at her home, teaching young Arab and Jewish women to become nurses and midwives.
In 1916, after the last two male physicians were expelled from the city by the Ottoman authorities, and playing a decisive role in containing a cholera epidemic, Kagan was granted an honorary license and started to work at a small children's hospital, becoming the first
pediatrician in the country and the only female physician in the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
,
running the hospital as the head of its pediatrics wing until 1925.
After this, she started working in 1925 at the Infants Home for Arab Children in the
Old City of Jerusalem, where she served as medical director until 1948.
Also, she was one of the founders of the ''Histadrut Nashim Ivriot'' (Hebrew Women's Organization), which became the local chapter of
WIZO
The Women's International Zionist Organization (WIZO; he, ויצו ') is a volunteer organization dedicated to social welfare in all sectors of Israeli society, the advancement of the status of women, and Jewish education in Israel and the Dias ...
.
![ירושלים - ד](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D_-_%D7%93%22%D7%A8_%D7%94%D7%9C%D7%A0%D7%94_%D7%9B%D7%92%D7%9F-JNF010970.jpeg)
Kagan established the Israel Pediatrics Association in 1927.
In the same year, she opened a shelter for homeless children, and a health center in the
Old City of Jerusalem for working mothers,
the precursor to those known today as ''Tipat Chalav''. In 1936, she established the pediatrics department of the
Bikur Cholim Hospital in Jerusalem, which she headed until 1975. In 1947, she was elected member of the Board of Trustees of the
Hebrew University
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...
, becoming its vice-chairwoman in 1965.
[Helena Kagan](_blank)
Jewish Women's Archive
Awards and recognition
She was awarded the
Israel Prize in 1975
for the special contribution to society and the state in community service. The pediatric department of
Bikur Holim Hospital
Bikur Cholim Hospital ( he, בית החולים ביקור חולים) was a 200-bed general hospital in West Jerusalem, established in the 19th century and closed due to financial difficulties in the second decade of the 21st century. Until then, ...
and a community center in
Katamonim, Jerusalem, bear her name since 1962
and 1968 respectively. In her later years, Kagan worked as adviser to the
Ministry of Health while keeping the pediatric consulting work at home.
See also
*
List of Israel Prize recipients
*
Health care in Israel
Healthcare in Israel is universal and participation in a medical insurance plan is compulsory. All Israeli residents are entitled to basic health care as a fundamental right. The Israeli healthcare system is based on the National Health Insurance ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kagan, Helena
1889 births
1978 deaths
Physicians from Tashkent
People from Syr-Darya Oblast
Israel Prize for special contribution to society and the State recipients
Israel Prize women recipients
Israeli women physicians
Israeli pediatricians
Israeli Jews
Israeli people of Uzbekistani-Jewish descent
Jews in Mandatory Palestine
Jews in Ottoman Palestine
Uzbekistani emigrants to Israel
Uzbekistani Jews
Jews from the Russian Empire
20th-century physicians from the Ottoman Empire