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Operation Protective Edge – A Unique Challenge for a Civilian EMS Agency

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2015

Eli Jaffe ,
Refael Strugo  and
Oren Wacht
Eli Jaffe
Affiliation:
Magen David Adom (national EMS system), Tel Aviv, Israel Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Emergency Medicine, Recanati School for Community Health Professions, Beer Sheba, Israel
Refael Strugo
Affiliation:
Magen David Adom (national EMS system), Tel Aviv, Israel
Oren Wacht*
Affiliation:
Magen David Adom (national EMS system), Tel Aviv, Israel Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Emergency Medicine, Recanati School for Community Health Professions, Beer Sheba, Israel
*
Correspondence: Oren Wacht, EMT-P, PhD Ben-Gurion University of the Negev Department of Emergency Medicine P.O. Box 652 Beer Sheva, Israel E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

During July through August 2014, Operation Protective Edge, a military conflict between Israel and the Hamas regime in Gaza, dramatically affected both populations. Magen David Adom (MDA), the Israeli national Emergency Medical Service (EMS) and a member of the Red Cross, faced a unique challenge during the conflict: to continue providing crucial service to the entire civilian population of Israel, which was under constant missile threat. This challenge included not only providing immediate care for routine EMS calls under missile threat, but also preparing and delivering immediate care to civilians injured in attacks on major cities, as well as small communities, in Israel. This task is a challenge for a civilian EMS agency that normally operates in a non-military environment, yet, in an instant, must enhance its capability to respond to a considerable threat to its population. During Operation Protective Edge, MDA provided care for 842 wounded civilians and utilized a significant amount of its resources. Providing EMS services for a civilian population in a mixed civilian/military scenario is a challenging task on a national level for an EMS system, especially when the threat lasts for weeks. This report describes MDA’s preparedness and operations during Operation Protective Edge, and the unique EMS challenges and dilemmas the agency faced.

Jaffe E, Wacht O, Strugo R. Operation Protective Edge – A Unique Challenge for a Civilian EMS Agency. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2015;30(5):539–542.

Keywords

civil defenseEmergency Medical Serviceswounds and injuries
Type
Special Reports
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 30 , Issue 5 , October 2015 , pp. 539 - 542
Copyright
© World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2015 

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