A 31-year-old Dead Sea area resident is resting comfortably on Tuesday morning, listed in stable condition in Beersheva’s Soroka Medical Center, after suffering a major heart attack.

The man collapsed on Monday, and his good fortune had it that many MDA medics were in the area, taking part in the MDA Olympics to determine the best medical team in the emergency medical service organization. The participants seeking the title did not expect to treat a real patient at Massada, but they did just that and doctors at Soroka credit the patient’s stable condition with the fact he received immediate and appropriate pre-hospital care. After stabilizing the victim, a chopper evacuated him to the hospital.

41 medical teams, EMTs and paramedics, from Israel and abroad, are taking part in the competition, seeking the title of ‘best team’. They are compelled to pass 11 stations and exhibit proficiency in diagnosing and treating many medical scenarios. Their skills in conventional and non-conventional treatments are tested in many fields, including trauma, cardiology, pediatrics, as well as other life-threatening situations.

(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)