[FIVE YEARS HAVE PASSED SINCE SAMSON ASSUTA ASHDOD UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL WAS OPENED].

Introduction: Five years have passed since the Samson Assuta Ashdod Hospital was opened for the public, the first hospital founded in Israel after decades. The count started as the doors of the emergency medicine ward opened to the public, thus expressing the point in time when, for the first time, the hospital staff could manage a patient from the time of his entrance to the hospital till the completion of definite care (such as surgery, cardiac catheterization and more). This was in comparison to treatment of only selected (ambulatory and elective) patients in the new hospital during the initial running period that lasted for half a year. Five years after opening the hospital, the medical skills and the services have developed, and the hospital continues to grow. Parallel to the expansion of medical activity, the academic activity and research have bloomed as expected in a hospital affiliated to the University of Ben Gurion. In this issue of the journal we provide a glimpse into this field in the hospital.