With Israel so experienced in coping with terrorist attacks and mass catastrophe
events, Magen David Adom hosted doctors and paramedics from eight countries here
last week to learn from its experience.
The participants are from
hospital staff in Burgas, Bulgaria, where a terror attack at the airport killed
five five Israelis last July, and also from England, Italy, the Czech Republic,
Australia, the US, Haiti and South Africa.
Those from Bulgaria met the
Israelis from that attack that they had treated in their own
hospital.
They were briefed on the country’s medical emergency system,
how to train volunteers for emergencies and the treatment of trauma. The guests
viewed a mass-catastrophe drill, studied an emergency simulator at Assaf Harofeh
Medical Center in Tzrifin and viewed a display of MDA vehicles. The foreign
visitors also accompanied MDA teams on a mobile intensive care unit to see
paramedics cope with emergencies in the field.
An emotional encounter
took place between Daniel Fahima, who is still hospitalized for rehabilitation
at Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv after suffering severe wounds in Burgas,
and Dr.
Aristo Dimitrov Yurakov, a Bulgarian traumatologist who took care
of victims of the attack.
Amit Kosa, who was hurt in the same attack
along with her mother, also came to the meeting at Sheba. They praised MDA,
which had immediately send a medical team to Burgas to treat the wounded and
bring them back home.
MDA director-general Eli Bin said that since Israel
is so experienced in the field, it felt obligated to share its know-how with
other countries, as any country can be hit by terrorism.
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