As Part of MDA’s Life Guardians Project, a New Initiative Will Recruit the Dozens of Thousands of EMTs, Paramedics, Nurses and Doctors of the IDF to Expand MDA’s System of Standby First Responders Throughout Israel. MDA Director General, Eli Bin: “This Collaboration Constitutes a Tremendous Power Multiplier in Preliminary Life-Saving Treatment.”

The IDF Chief Medical Officer, Brigadier-General Dr. Dudu Dagan (who recently ended his term) and MDA Director General, Eli Bin, have announced a first of a kind collaboration between MDA and the IDF Medical Corps. As part of the collaboration, every medical personnel within the IDF will be invited to join MDA’s “Life Guardians” project which enhances the survival rate of civilians experiencing cardiac arrest.

According to statistics, only 3% of those who experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital survive and recover without suffering permanent damage. One of the factors that enhance survival rates in case of cardiac arrest is conducting chest compressions during the initial moments following the loss of consciousness and until the arrival of MDA teams to the scene. The idea behind this large, innovative initiative – that received the name “Life Guardians” – is that every civilian who has gone through a basic, 20-hour first aid training, is able to conduct basic resuscitation to patients suffering cardiac arrest, and provide lifesaving treatment in the critical minutes prior to the arrival of emergency medical teams. The initiative, which has already been joined by dozens of thousands of civilians with basic first aid training, will also be joined by the IDF’s dozens of thousands of medical personnel.

In the IDF there are dozens of thousands of medically trained soldiers, officers and reservists, among which are EMTs, paramedics, nurses and doctors whom are well trained in first aid and conducting resuscitations in emergencies.

Through the IDF Medical Corps, they will be able to join MDA’s Life Guardians initiative and regularly receive emergency calls using a mobile application that locates all medical personnel found within a five minute radius from the scene reported to MDA’s 101 dispatch center. As part of the collaboration, MDA staff will arrive at the IDF Medical Corps’ training base to brief the soldiers on the initiative. Those who find it interesting will able to voluntarily join the project and become a Life Guardian in their spare time. The Former IDF Chief Medical Officer, Brigadier-General, Dr. Dudu Dagan acts as an example to his soldiers and acts as a Life Guardian himself.

Former IDF Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Dagan: “IDF medical teams scattered throughout Israel operate toward saving the lives of soldiers and civilians day in and day out. Incorporating IDF medical corps staff into this national rescue project of utmost important, is essential in enabling medical staff to provide rapid, advanced medical treatment wherever they are. I am hopeful that this way, we will be able to significantly expand the circle of Life Guardians together with our friends from MDA.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem/Photo Credit: MDA spokesman unit)