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The World Health Organization has announced it recognizes the IDF Field Hospital unit the premiere unit of its kind in the world. The IDF Medical Corps has often assembled its team of experts containing various levels of medical professionals, who travel the world and establish a field hospital to treat victims of natural disaster or other tragedy. The IDF’s unit is the first to receive the Type-3 Field Hospital rating. Heading the team is Colonel Dr. Ofir Merin.

The Type-3 rating entails the field hospital having a minimum of two operating tables located in two separate rooms in addition to 40 inpatient beds. In addition, the field hospital must be capable of treating 15 major or 30 minor surgical cases daily. The unit is capable of being set up un less than 12 hours and it has 86 inpatient beds and four operating rooms, more than required by the WHO standard for a Type-3.

Israel is often the first and even the only nation to respond and establish a field hospital as has been seen in the IDF’s response to disasters in Turkey, Japan, Haiti, Nepal and the Philippines.

WHO representatives visited Israel numerous times in the process of meeting with Medical Corps officials and evaluating the field hospital operation.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo Credit: IDF Spokesman Unit)