Every year on Yom Kippur, thousands require MDA services. In light of the amount of emergency calls to MDA on the holiest day of the year, MDA is enhancing its preparedness level leading up to the Yom Kippur fast set to begin Friday, erev Yom Kippur, and end motzei Yom Kippur. MDA will enhance its stations throughout Israel with EMTs, paramedics, ambulances, mobile intensive care units and Medi-Cycles in order to provide medical treatment to those who require it.

MDA Director General, Eli Bin, has conducted a situation-analysis and has instructed Region Managers to raise their preparedness level to C – the highest level, starting from Yom Kippur eve and through the end of Shabbos.

MDA would like to reinforce that every year MDA teams navigating to emergency scenes and hospitals across Israel, face disruptions by pedestrians – endangering themselves, those around them, as well as ambulance passengers. MDA asks the public to enable ambulances to drive freely and continue with their mission of saving lives. Please clear the way if you identify an ambulance approaching.

Every year on Yom Kippur, MDA receives over 2,000 emergency calls from people requiring medical treatment. Many of the patients aren’t pedestrians and children injured on roads while riding bicycle and e-bikes, but are rather mispallalim who feel unwell due to fasting, unsupervised children and infants around shuls and women in labor who must be transferred to a hospital urgently.

This year, in addition to MDA teams at MDA stations and standby First Responders riding MDA Medi-Cycles around Israel, MDA EMTs and paramedics in shuls will be geared with MDA First Aid kits including defibrillators, and will be able to provide preliminary medical treatment instantly and effectively to those in need. MDA EMTs and paramedics will also be deployed at the Kosel to tend to emergencies in the area. As part of MDA’s high preparedness level, both helicopters operated by the organization will be on high alert and will be used to save lives in remote areas of Northern and Southern Israel.

Every year, the Jewish holidays period is characterized by a deficiency in blood units. In order for MDA’s blood services to be able to provide blood transfusions to hospitals, there is a need for donations of all blood types, with an emphasis on blood type O as well as negative Rh (O-, A-, B-, AB-). MDA calls the public to arrive at MDA blood donation stations at malls, MDA stations and additional public areas. Information about blood donation stations could be found on the appropriate MDA website.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)