Medical teams in the south were kept very busy on Thurday -- evacuating wounded and treating new and emotional trauma. Magen David Adom medics and paramedics -- prepared at the highest level of alertness -- treated more than 45 victims and evacuated them along with the three people who were killed when a Kiryat Malachi building was hit by a rocket from Gaza.
That was the most serious incident of the day. Sixteen people, including a year-old baby, were treated and rushed to the hospital in MDA ambulances. The child was in food to moderate condition after suffering shrapnel wounds, as did four adults. Six people suffered anxiety attacked, and a 60-year-old man had chest pains. All were taken to Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot.
David Moas, a volunteer MDA medic and ambulance driver, was at work when he heard the siren. Without hesitation, he drove to the site of the fallen rocket and while treating the wounded, he saw a 2.5-year-old girl alone. When he went to speak to her, another siren sounded; Moas picked her up and rushed her to safety. The medics also treated dozens of people suffering from anxiety attacks in Beersheba and Sderot.
MDA’s blood bank at Tel Hashomer worked to collect enough blood if needed.
Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon reported that it had treated two dozen wounded, mostly with shrapnel wounds. A four-year-old boy hit by shrapnel underwent special treatment to save his palm. The hospital also shifted to hospitals outside the range of the rockets a number of children and newborns, along with dialysis and oncology patients because Barzilai’s facilities are not fortified.
Herzog Hospital’s Psychotrauma Center in Jerusalem announced that it was opening emergency phone lines manned by experts to help residents of the south who were traumatized by the current events. The service, in Hebrew, English and Amharic, can be reached at (02) 6449666.
Clalit Health Services, the largest health fund, said its nurses’ center is operating around the clock to help people in the south cope with anxiety and trauma and will be operated by trained social workers. In addition, its online medical service offers consultations wit pediatricians by video chats. More information can be obtained at www.clalit.co.il and at *2700.
United Hatzalah also boosted its group of volunteer medics in the south with 100 more people.
The Reut organization invited the elderly living in the south to spend time out of the danger area in sheltered housing in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. For details, see www.datileumi.co.il or call 1-800-560-560.
The national voluntary organization Yad Sarah set up a special center to deal with requests for help from residents of the south and has boosted its medical equipment lending centers in Beersheba, Dimona, Yevul, Nehora, Arad, Kiryat Gat and Kiryat Malachi. Its branches in Netivot and Sderot are temporarily closed because they are not fortified. Yad Sarah will respond at its number *6444.
Meanwhile, the TEREM urgent care company dedicated its new clinic in Karmiel on Thursday. Its first urgent care clinic in the north was opened in with Deputy Health Minister Ya’acov Litzman present. Area residents now have access to urgent care seven days a week, where in most cases they are treated and discharged within one hour instead of going to a crowded hospital emergency room.
TEREM CEO Natan Applebaum, announced that in the light of the increasing demand by thousands of patients for quick, efficient emergency care, the TEREM network is planning to open more centers in the periphery.