TY - JOUR
T1 - Operation protective edge - A unique challenge for a civilian EMS agency
AU - Jaffe, Eli
AU - Strugo, Refael
AU - Wacht, Oren
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2015.
PY - 2015/8/19
Y1 - 2015/8/19
N2 - During July through August 2014, Operation Protective Edge, a military conflict between Israel and the Hamas regime in Gaza, dramatically affected both populations. Magen David Adom (MDA), the Israeli national Emergency Medical Service (EMS) and a member of the Red Cross, faced a unique challenge during the conflict: to continue providing crucial service to the entire civilian population of Israel, which was under constant missile threat. This challenge included not only providing immediate care for routine EMS calls under missile threat, but also preparing and delivering immediate care to civilians injured in attacks on major cities, as well as small communities, in Israel. This task is a challenge for a civilian EMS agency that normally operates in a non-military environment, yet, in an instant, must enhance its capability to respond to a considerable threat to its population. During Operation Protective Edge, MDA provided care for 842 wounded civilians and utilized a significant amount of its resources. Providing EMS services for a civilian population in a mixed civilian/military scenario is a challenging task on a national level for an EMS system, especially when the threat lasts for weeks. This report describes MDA's preparedness and operations during Operation Protective Edge, and the unique EMS challenges and dilemmas the agency faced.
AB - During July through August 2014, Operation Protective Edge, a military conflict between Israel and the Hamas regime in Gaza, dramatically affected both populations. Magen David Adom (MDA), the Israeli national Emergency Medical Service (EMS) and a member of the Red Cross, faced a unique challenge during the conflict: to continue providing crucial service to the entire civilian population of Israel, which was under constant missile threat. This challenge included not only providing immediate care for routine EMS calls under missile threat, but also preparing and delivering immediate care to civilians injured in attacks on major cities, as well as small communities, in Israel. This task is a challenge for a civilian EMS agency that normally operates in a non-military environment, yet, in an instant, must enhance its capability to respond to a considerable threat to its population. During Operation Protective Edge, MDA provided care for 842 wounded civilians and utilized a significant amount of its resources. Providing EMS services for a civilian population in a mixed civilian/military scenario is a challenging task on a national level for an EMS system, especially when the threat lasts for weeks. This report describes MDA's preparedness and operations during Operation Protective Edge, and the unique EMS challenges and dilemmas the agency faced.
KW - Emergency Medical Services
KW - civil defense
KW - wounds and injuries
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84948386763&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/S1049023X15005026
DO - 10.1017/S1049023X15005026
M3 - Article
C2 - 26323985
AN - SCOPUS:84948386763
SN - 1049-023X
VL - 30
SP - 539
EP - 542
JO - Prehospital and Disaster Medicine
JF - Prehospital and Disaster Medicine
IS - 5
ER -