In 1913 Hadassah sent two Americantrained nurses to Palestine to establish a small welfare station in Jerusalem for maternity care and the treatment of trachoma. a dread eye disease common to underdeveloped sections of the Middle East. In World War I Hadassah sent one of its nurses to Alexandria. Egypt. to aid the refugee health crisis there. and at the close of the war. in 1918. the American Zionist Medical Unit was established on a permanent basis. with funds supplied by Hadassah. Four Americanstyle hospitalclinic operations went into effect the same year in different sections of Palestine. sanitation activities were introduced in both rural and urban centers. and a nurses training school was opened in Jerusalem. The concept of educating a population to understand its medical problems and to demand a high standard of medical services was one of Hadassahs most significant contributions to Palestine.