The IDF Chief Medical Officer, Brigadier General, Dr. Dudu Dagan (who recently ended his term) and MDA Director General, Eli Bin, have announced a first of a kind collaboration between MDA and the IDF Medical Corps. As part of the collaboration, all medical personnel within the IDF will be invited to join MDA’s “Life Guardians” project which enhances the survival rate of civilians experiencing cardiac arrest.
According to statistics, only 3% of those who experience cardiac arrest outside of a hospital survive and recover without suffering permanent damage. One of the factors that enhance survival rates in case of cardiac arrest is conducting chest compressions during the initial moments following the loss of consciousness and until the arrival of MDA teams to the scene.
The idea behind this large, innovative initiative - that received the name “Life Guardians” - is that every civilian who has gone through a basic, 20-hour first aid training, is able to conduct basic resuscitation to patients suffering cardiac arrest, and provide lifesaving treatment in the critical minutes prior to the arrival of emergency medical teams. The initiative, which has already been joined by tens of thousands of civilians with basic first aid training, will also be joined by the IDF’s thousands of medical personnel.
In the IDF, there are thousands of medically trained soldiers, officers and reservists, among whom are EMTs, paramedics, nurses and doctors well trained in first aid and conducting resuscitations in emergencies. Through the IDF Medical Corps, they will be able to join MDA’s Life Guardians initiative and regularly receive emergency calls using a mobile application that locates all medical personnel found within a five minute radius from the scene as reported to MDA’s 101 dispatch center.
As part of the collaboration, MDA staff will arrive at the IDF Medical Corps’ training base to brief the soldiers on the initiative. Those who find it interesting will able to voluntarily join the project and become a Life Guardian in their spare time. Former IDF Chief Medical Officer, Brigadier General Dr. Dudu Dagan acts as an example to his soldiers and serves as a Life Guardian himself.
Former IDF Chief Medical Officer, Brigadier General, Dr. Dudu Dagan said that “IDF medical teams scattered throughout Israel operate toward saving the lives of soldiers and civilians day in and day out. Incorporating IDF medical corps staff into this national rescue project of utmost importance is essential in enabling medical staff to provide rapid, advanced medical treatment wherever they are. I am hopeful that this way, we will be able to significantly expand the circle of Life Guardians together with our friends from MDA.”
MDA Director General, Eli Bin thanked Dagan for his help in getting the project off the ground.
“MDA, Israel’s national rescue organization has collaborated with the IDF medical corps. We have approached the IDF Chief Medical Officer, Brigadier General Dr. Dudu Dagan, who instantly enlisted IDF medical personnel to the important, lifesaving project for the benefit of all civilians of Israel, and I thank him for that. The soldiers and officers joining the “Life Guardians” project will assist in saving the lives of many every year, and I am confident that this collaboration constitutes a tremendous power multiplier in preliminary life-saving treatment to civilians and soldiers at any time of need. I call on soldiers with first aid training to join the project and take part in the important mission of saving lives. You have the power to help us continue and save lives day in and day out, at all hours and throughout all parts of Israel.”