Top Honor for Luba

An Award from Israel's Ministry of Health was presented to ESRA volunteer Dr. Luba Zuk on June 17 for her outstanding work in pediatric physiotherapy.

Luba, who coordinates the ESRA Raanana College, was born in South Africa in 1939 to Zionistic parents, Miriam and Solly Jankelowitz. Most of the years they lived in Randfontein.

She and her husband Joe moved to Israel in 1975 with their two children Dorit and Yonatan.

She has a B.Sc degree in Physiotherapy from the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg and a degree in Special Education specializing in Cerebral Palsy, from the University of South Africa. She also has an MA in Art Therapy from Lesley University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S. and a Ph.D (2002) in Health Sciences from Tel Aviv University.

Luba's work and specialization are in the field of pediatrics. She successfully integrated her academic knowledge into her clinical work. In 1968, she began working with children suffering from cerebral palsy and continued until she came to live in Israel.

In Israel, her professional work with children began in the pediatric ward of the Bikur Holim hospital in Jerusalem. After moving to Tel Aviv, she worked at the Beit Abrahams Rehabilitative Unit for Child Development as Head of Physiotherapy.

She began her academic career in 1980 as a lecturer in pediatrics at the School of Physiotherapy in the Sheba Medical Center (Tel Hashomer).

In 1983, she joined the physiotherapy staff of Tel Aviv University's Sackler School of Medicine and the Sackler Faculty of Medicine. As head of the pediatrics program, she expanded it from a single-semester course to three semester courses providing clinical pediatric experience.

Luba still continues to teach Bachelor and Master's students, and to tutor students doing research for their Master's degree and Ph.D. She has twice been awarded prizes for 'Outstanding Lecturer' and received research grants from the Sackler Faculty of Medicine.

Much of her time was devoted to the introduction of standards for treatment and diagnosis in physiotherapy. She developed and published in an international journal, a unique standard and validated test for assessing motor function in children between the ages of 4 – 8, named after her as the 'Zuk Assessment'. The test is widely used throughout Israel.

Between 1992–2009, Luba headed the Physiotherapy Department in Child Development for the central region of Kupat Holim Meuhedet. From 1992-2017, she also worked as a professional consultant and senior trainer for the child development team in Kfar Saba. Luba retired only very recently.

Over the years, she has taught professional courses to doctors and other health professionals in Israel, Jordan, South Africa, and the U.S. In addition, she has served on committees of several organizations in Israel for advancing the quality of physiotherapy in Israel and organizing local conventions She has presented her research at Israeli and international conventions, and has published many articles in well known, respected professional journals.

Her personal world-view aim is to pass on knowledge to the younger generation in order to continue developing the field of physiotherapy, and to combine theory and practice in the treatment of the children under their care, improving their functioning and their participation in daily life. Her message to all therapists working with people, when working with a child "always be professional, but with loving hands".

Luba is well known in the South African community, is a keen bridge player and lives in Ramat Hasharon.