CHEMED Health hosted its annual Medical and Ethics Conference this weekend, drawing more than 1,000 participants for a multi-day program focused on medicine, ethics, and Halacha. Attendees included physicians, nurses, medical students, rabbanim, and healthcare administrators from across the region.

The conference opened Thursday evening with a keynote address by Rav Sholom Kamenetsky, titled “AI, Autonomy, and Halacha: How Jewish Law Approaches the Future of Decision Making.” The lecture examined emerging medical technologies and ethical decision-making through a Torah-based framework.

Over the course of the conference, participants attended 52 lectures delivered by rabbinic authorities, academic leaders, and medical professionals. Presenters included Rabbi Dr. Aaron E. Glatt, Rabbi Dr. Dovid Katz, Rabbi Dr. Akiva Tatz, Rav Professor Avrohom Steinberg, and Dr. Isaac Schechter, among others. Topics ranged from clinical practice and public health policy to end-of-life care and bioethical dilemmas.

A central feature of the program took place on Motzei Shabbos, when Rav Asher Weiss participated in a special question-and-answer session. Rav Weiss, who traveled from Israel for the event, praised CHEMED’s leadership and addressed complex medical halachic cases in discussion with attendees.

The conference concluded with a major announcement by Dr. Dovid Friedman, outlining plans for CHEMED’s next phase of development. During a presentation with the organization’s development team, Friedman unveiled plans for “The Medical Village,” a large-scale outpatient healthcare campus designed to centralize and coordinate medical services.

According to CHEMED, the Medical Village will be a fully integrated outpatient campus bringing together more than 50 medical specialties. Planned services include primary care, pediatric and adult subspecialties, dental care, behavioral health, women’s health, diagnostic radiology, an ambulatory surgery center, and a standalone emergency department. The facility is intended to allow patients to access multiple levels of care within a single coordinated system.

“For nearly two decades, CHEMED has been committed to expanding access to quality care,” Friedman said. “The Medical Village reflects our next step forward — building a future-ready healthcare model that integrates specialty medicine, academic training, and coordinated care delivery.”

In addition to clinical services, the campus will include dedicated educational and training facilities for medical students and residents.

CHEMED officials said this component is designed to strengthen academic medicine and expand professional development opportunities in the region.