Empowering Communities to Respond to Emergencies
On October 7, most roads leading to communities under attack were blocked, so that some medical teams were unable to reach wounded Israelis. Magen David Adom lost no time in launching an innovative initiative aimed at ensuring that never again would terror victims have to wait for life-saving emergency care
The horrific events of October 7th produced many previously unimaginable situations. Among the many shocking occurrences that day, most of the roads leading to the communities under siege were blocked by terrorists and were too dangerous to use. Although Magen David Adom (MDA) responded quickly, dispatching EMTs and paramedics from all over the country to the Gaza Envelope, treating and evacuating the thousands of people who were wounded proved to be extremely challenging. First responders who drove to the affected communities essentially risked their own lives in order to try to save others.
October 7th proved yet again that Israel faces very unique challenges that other countries would never have to confront. Magen David Adom, Israel's emergency services system, has always been aware of this reality and, consequently, has built an impressive network of people and services highly experienced in handling routine emergencies as well as the all-too-frequent wars, terror attacks and other violent incidents.
Resources within the community
Immediately following October 7th, MDA decided to fast-track a project that had previously been on the back burner: establishing community-based emergency response teams throughout Israel capable of treating local victims of terror attacks when it isn't possible to evacuate them to hospitals in a timely manner. Named the Magen Project, its goal is to ensure that in the future, if communities are under siege and the arrival of professional first responders is delayed, life-saving treatments can be administered on location.
The innovative concept entails training Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) and equipping them with first-aid supplies that are stored in advance within each community. These supplies are easily accessible during emergencies, so that the local response team will be able to initially provide vital care without having to be dependent on external help.
Ultimately, MDA plans to establish 1,000 CERTs all over Israel, with a special emphasis on communities in the most volatile areas, such as along the northern border, near the Gaza Strip, in Judea and Samaria, and close to other borders.
Recruiting volunteers
Several hundred CERTs have already become operational in the last few months. In each community, volunteers are recruited to take part in the project — medical professionals as well as people with no previous medical background. Magen David Adom offers a six-hour basic course for lay volunteers who want to be part of their local Community Emergency Response Team. The course trains them to provide rudimentary treatment to trauma victims, including how to apply bandages and tourniquets and how to administer CPR. They also learn how to call for help and how to coordinate the evacuation of the wounded to safer locations for further treatment.
Last year, Magen David Adom's Training Department taught basic first-aid skills and emergency care procedures to around 350,000 people all over Israel. Now, through the Magen Project, MDA will expand the scope of its training activities, with special training programs for volunteer CERT teams in as many communities as possible.
In addition to recruiting residents with no medical background, the Magen Project encourages doctors, paramedics and nurses to volunteer for the Community Emergency Response Team in their place of residence. These professionals undergo a special training course, at a more advanced level than the lay volunteers. Altogether, each CERT comprises between 10 and 25 members who are integrated in the local security apparatus.
In addition, MDA certifies two members of each community's security team as EMTs, so that, when necessary, emergency medical care can be provided even when access to the community is temporarily compromised. By being prepared in advance for scenarios such as what happened on October 7th, where it was impossible to promptly evacuate severely wounded victims, the Community Emergency Response Teams can save lives during the critical window of time after a person is wounded.
Personalized training and equipment
Each CERT team receives supplies based on its members' level of knowledge and experience as well as on local needs. Communities where the emergency response team is composed entirely of non-medical professionals receive basic first-aid supplies. When there are advanced healthcare providers on the team, the supplies include more sophisticated equipment, which enables the team's doctors and paramedics to perform various medical procedures in the field, such as opening airways.
"The communities are the best authorities on what they need," says Uri Shacham, MDA's chief of staff. "We're working with each locality in a very personalized way to provide the kind of training and equipment that will be of most use to them."
Additionally, MDA is making Multi-Casualty Rescue Units available to the Magen Project. These large trailers have the capacity to treat up to 20 wounded patients at a time and are stocked with large amounts of medical supplies. The plan also calls for supplying CERTs with emergency response vehicles which will be permanently parked inside the different communities and will be the responsibility of two or three CERT members.
The Magen Project will be digitally connected to Magen David Adom's sophisticated database and dispatch system. The CERT volunteers will be registered in the MDA system and dispatched to medical emergencies in their communities through the official MDA network. "In the event of an emergency in an isolated community, MDA dispatchers at our operations center will be in contact with the designated community medics, who will describe the urgent needs with the level of detail and speed that is crucial in such scenarios," explains Shacham. "With resources and training provided by Magen David Adom, and full integration with our cutting-edge dispatch system, we can maximize the potential that already exists in Israel's towns and neighborhoods," he adds. "Working together, we can ensure that our communities are always fully protected."
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