Magen David Adom has opened a new station, in Givat Shmuel, a municipality of 25,000 residents. Taking part in the ceremony were Mayor Yossi Barudni, city Director-General Gabi Hadad, and other city and MDA officials. The event took place on Tuesday, 19 Menachem Av.

It is pointed out it is a relatively busy area for MDA as Routes 4 and 471 pass through the city. One ambulance was placed at the substation, which will be manned by local personnel. There are 25 MDA volunteers in Givat Shmuel, of which 15 are EMTs and 10 first aiders, volunteers under the age of 18. In the near future MDA hopes to launch a first aid course and EMT course in the area to attract additional personnel. An ambucycle is also going to be placed in the area for on-call personnel to assist in reaching calls during high traffic volume times of the day.

In the past year MDA was summoned to over 870 calls in Givat Shmuel, requiring 600 trips to local hospitals. There were over 40 traffic accidents involving 104 people, and 9 labor/delivery calls requiring transport to a hospital.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)