Preparedness of the Israeli health system for emergencies

THE STATE OF ISRAEL WAS ESTABLISHED in 1948 and currently has a population of approximately 7 million inhabitants. Since it was founded, the state has fought six wars and has been subjected to thousands of terrorist-initiated incidents and to missiles and rockets that were targeted at the civilian population. In addition to these threats, the state has had to deal with the possibility of non-conventional missile attacks that have emanated from the second Gulf War. Thus, the state of Israel has had to develop an infrastructure and a readiness to deal with conventional and non-conventional terrorist attacks. In order to prepare the healthcare system to deal with these threats, emphasis has been placed on the development of an integrated network of agencies that operate under the coordination of the Ministry of Health (MOH). This network, the foundation of which was established 25 years ago, has the primary responsibility for preparing the medical services required to deal with all types of mass-casualty incidents (MCIs). The network includes Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs), which are responsible for the delivery of ambulatory primary health care in the community, all general hospitals, rural, peripheral, and Level-1 trauma centers, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Medical Corps, and the Home Front Command.