Magen David Adom Today

Today, Magen David Adom has more than 1,200 paid employees including ambulance medics and drivers, doctors, paramedics, blood technicians, communication center workers and administrative workers as well as 12,000 volunteers. Half of these volunteers are teenagers. The youngest volunteer is 15 and the oldest volunteer is 86 years old. Most of the latter comprise a reserve force to be activated in times of emergency or special need. The volunteers are active in all of MDA’s day-to-day operations.

Emergency First Aid Stations

Magen David Adom maintains a nationwide lifesaving network of 100 Emergency First Aid Stations spanning the country. The number of Stations is gradually being expanded, to answer the needs of a growing population.

Many of these Stations were first housed in temporary quarters which, in the course of time, proved inadequate. Every year, modern and functional buildings, planned for optimal efficacy, are replacing the huts and barracks that served as temporary stations. This ambitious building and expansion program is made possible by the American Friends of Magen David Adom-ARMDI and other “Friends” organizations around the world.

Most of MDA’s Emergency First Aid Stations operate on a 24-hour around-the-clock basis and are equipped for emergency procedures. All Stations are also linked by the most modern communication technology, so that immediate information concerning accidents or mass disasters can be relayed and needed action and assistance provided immediately.

Ambulances

When Magen David Adom was established in 1930, its pride was its single ambulance, which was incessantly on call.

Today, MDA has an ambulance fleet of more than 800 modern lifesaving vehicles, deployed in all parts of the country. Most of the ambulances area attached to the MDA Stations; others are stationed in villages and kibbutzim in areas along the threatened borders. All are equipped with wireless radios linking them to their Stations or ambulance posts, and to regional headquarters.

A vital task is carried out by MDA’s 110 Mobile Intensive Care Units (MICU’s) which are equipped with sophisticated equipment for the immediate diagnosis and treatment in cardiac and polytrauma emergencies and linked by telemetry equipment to the Coronary Care Units at nearby medical centers, enabling the attending physician to administer the required treatment en route. The MICU’s are staffed by physicians trained in emergency medicine and by paramedics who have undergone thorough and very strenuous training at MDA.