Alan Stein

blog_alan_stein

Alan Stein
Alan, a 20 year old from Melbourne, volunteered for
Magen David Adom. He describes his time with MDA as
one of the major learning experiences of his life.

April 2015

LEARNING ABOUT LIFE AND MYSELF WITH MDA

I’d been waiting a long time for this. My first shift in a Natan with the big kids in the MDA playground.

My first call, – around seven hours into that shift, woke me up from a light sleep. I ran into the ambulance and heard that we were to drive about an hour responding to this call – but I could not gather why. When we parked in Arad, I took out the first-aid bag and followed the driver upstairs. Without any warning I realised why we were there.

An elderly lady had suffered a stroke and had passed away. Apparently, she also had had cancer. We were only there so that the doctor with us could sign the death warrant. None of us seemed startled; not even me, who had never seen a dead person before. In fact, I struck up conversation with some of the Israeli junior volunteers who knew English and, to them, it was just another call.

What really struck me occurred on the drive back to Be’er Sheva. We stopped at a bus stop by a large and evidently poor Bedouin village. There, we picked up a four-year old boy with hypoglycaemia. The hypoglycaemia acts quickly and has similar symptoms to stroke. Surely, this would be a fatality. It would take us 45 minutes to get to Soroka Hospital in Be’er Sheva. So his life would probably be in our hands.

I’d really like to write about how heroic I was, how I kept on top of the vital signs and how I did everything in my training to ensure he was okay. But then I’d be lying to you.

I did almost nothing. I tore some pieces of tape so that the medic could insert an IV needle. I fumbled around for the equipment needed to measure blood pressure and glucose, but couldn’t get readings on either. Meanwhile, the boy was throwing up into his oxygen mask. His mother was with us and I could only imagine what was going through her mind – particularly when we arrived at the hospital and I damn near dropped the machine that was keeping him alive! And I’ll never know whether the boy made it or not, because our call was over. My shift was finished and home I went.

All I can say is that I learnt so much about Israel, health, myself and life in the space of a couple hours thanks to the Magen David Adom course.

A total of 832,277 Patients and casualties were transferred to hospitals

MDA Operates 166 stations throughout Israel

MDA teams perform an Average of 500 resuscitations per month

MDA evacuated 74,865 wounded in road accidents, and 5,142 wounded from work-related accidents

232 babies were delivered in ambulances and at home assisted by MDA team members

There are 350 paramedics in the organization

On average, 1,745 operational callouts take place every day

In a public satisfaction survey conducted MDA came in 2nd place after the IDF on a list of security, emergency and rescue organizations with a score of 96%

According to the organization's statistics, the average response time for an ambulance and mobile intensive care unit is 8 minutes after the first call is received

In 2015, MDA celebrated its 85th anniversary

In a public satisfaction survey conducted MDA came in 2nd place after the IDF on a list of security, emergency and rescue organizations with a score of 96%

In 2015, MDA celebrated its 85th anniversary

MDA Employs 2,200 paid staff members and activates 22,000 volunteers, 12,000 of whom are teenagers

4,500 First Responder volunteers respond to an average of 488,8 calls a month I Volunteers invest over 1.5 million hours of service per year

The oldest volunteer is 90 years old & the youngest is 15

17,954 women in labor were transferred to hospital delivery rooms

There are 3 professionals in a Mobile Intensive Care Unit

A Life Support Ambulance A MICU team of 2 includes an Emergency Medical Technician and a paramedic

100,000 Israelis have downloaded the "My MDA" cellular App

20,000 Life Guardians are active across the country

110,000People underwent resuscitation courses

An intensive first aid and resuscitation course lasts 60 Hours

More than 470 foreign volunteers from 22 different countries were trained and volunteered in MDA stations

MDA trained 3,000 young parents in Infant and Child resuscitation

1,750 teenagers are given summer courses every year in infant and child resuscitation

750 teenagers are trained during courses to manage an MCI - Multi Casualty Incident

260,000 Blood Units were donated to MDA's Blood Bank | The MDA Blood Bank Services have 43 Blood Bank Mobiles

MDA dispatchers answer an emergency phone call in less than 4 seconds

The MDA emergency phone number is 101.

MDA deploys 379 MICUs (Mobile Intensive Care Units)

MDA deploys 715 ambulances

MDA deploys 63 of which are able to navigate through difficult routes and off-road conditions

MDA deploys 8 Dune Tractors (MULES) to evacuate victims from unconventional areas

MDA deploys 5 paramedic supervisor ALS vehicles, and 2 helicopters

MDA deploys 507 First responders on motorbikes

MDA deploys 50 armored ambulances are also deployed in friction and combat zones

There are 174 MDA ambulances stationed in Kibbutzim, Moshavim and Local Councils