Over 300 healthcare professionals visited Magen David Adom's headquarters in Ramla to attend a specialized conference initiated by Magen David Adom on pre-hospital resuscitation
The conference was held in collaboration with the American Heart Association, senior doctors from hospitals, representatives from HMOs, and the medical and training departments of Magen David Adom.
Attendees included doctors from hospitals and HMOs, nurses, paramedics, medical personnel from the Israel Police, Fire and Rescue, Israel Prison Service, and other emergency bodies.
At the opening of the conference, organized by the head of MDA’s training department, Eliaz Mor, and MDA Deputy Director General for Medical Services, Dr. Rafael Strugo, greetings were given by Prof. Eilat Shinar, MDA Deputy Director General of Blood Services, and Dr. Baruch Berzon, Medical Director of MDA’s Medical Emergency Center and Regional Doctor for the Jerusalem District.
During the conference, presentations were delivered by senior medical professionals from hospitals, HMOs, professors, doctors, and senior MDA staff on various topics.
Among the speakers were:
Dr. Daniel Trotzki, Deputy Director of Shamir-Assaf Harofeh Medical Center and Northern District Physician at MDA, who lectured on the importance of defibrillators in public spaces and the chain of survival for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest;
Dr. Boaz Kalmovitz, Medical Director of Maccabi Healthcare Services’ Emergency Medicine and Resuscitation department, who discussed managing resuscitation protocols in community medicine;
MDA’s Head of Information and Technology, Ido Rosenblat, who shared knowledge about emergency call centers and life-saving technologies, including T-CPR (telephone-based CPR guidance, video calls, locating defibrillators, etc.);
Dr. Shafir Botner, Director of MDA’s Paramedic School, who lectured on strategies for dealing with persistent arrhythmias;
Dr. Reodor Greenberg, Director of ECMO and General Intensive Care at Shamir Medical Center, who spoke about the use of ECMO devices in pre-hospital settings (ECPR);
Dr. Oren Wacht, Head of the Emergency Medicine Department at Ben Gurion University, who discussed integrating ultrasound (POCUS) into CPR;
MDA Deputy Director General for Medical Services Dr. Rafael Strugo, who spoke about out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and the potential for organ donation.
During the conference, a resuscitation case was presented to the participants, that included a reunion between the MDA-Ichilov Hospital ambulance team – Prof. Kobi Shacham, director of the cardiac ICU and the cardiology department at Ichilov Hospital, MDA Paramedic Nir Grosbard, and deputy chief nurse in Ichilov’s cardiac ICU Ira Posel, and 72 year old Chaim who suffered a cardiac arrest, and who was resuscitated through complex treatments provided by the team.
A fascinating lecture was given by Dr. Brian Grunau, a representative of the American Heart Association’s scientific council, on the development process of AHA guidelines for pre-hospital resuscitation.
Magen David Adom has been an international training center for the American Heart Association in Israel for over 16 years. As part of the collaboration between the two organizations, MDA has led various educational initiatives to make life-saving treatment, training, and knowledge accessible to all residents of Israel.
As part of a unique project to connect a patient undergoing resuscitation to an ECMO device in the pre-hospital setting in collaboration with MDA and Shamir-Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, the second part of the conference featured a live demonstration of a person collapsing and being connected to an ECMO device in the field, simulating heart-lung activity. There was also a demonstration of advanced life support (ALS) resuscitation, a quality CPR competition using a specialized app (QCPR technology), and a showcase of unique advanced rescue vehicles, including a 7-bed mobile intensive care bus.
A guided tour was held at MDA's new and advanced underground National Blood Bank, the only one of its kind in the world, as well as the National Emergency Medical Center and MDA’s National Human Milk Bank.
MDA's Director of Training and Volunteers Division, Itamar Abramovich, and Head of the Training Department, Eliaz Mor, said:
"We held a professional conference for the medical community and MDA teams, led by leading senior lecturers. The conference mainly focused on resuscitation topics based on the 2024 chain of survival. During the event, special attention was given to various emergency scenarios related to resuscitation and a review of studies and data from both Israel and abroad. Participants left the event with valuable knowledge on pre-hospital resuscitation."
Dr. Rafael Strugo, MDA Deputy Director General of Medical Services, and Dr. Baruch Berzon, Medical Director of MDA’s Medical Emergency Center and District Doctor for Jerusalem, said:
"Today we held a conference to discuss excellence in pre-hospital resuscitation. MDA is a leader in this field and collaborates with HMOs, hospitals, the American Heart Association, and other medical bodies.
The conference addressed improving patient survival in out-of-hospital resuscitation, correct use of defibrillators by the public, and advanced medical technologies used by MDA’s 101 emergency dispatch center. We also discussed training, new technology such as ECMO, ultrasound use in the field, organ donation, and more.
We are pleased that despite the ongoing war, we were able to hold this important conference and bring together people from various areas of pre-hospital care and hospitals to promote excellence in this field."
MDA Director General Eli Bin:
"I thank all our partners, including the American Heart Association, hospitals, HMOs, security services, and other medical organizations, for their participation in the conference, and the many guests who attended. These joint professional conferences are of utmost importance, as they contribute significantly to understanding the life-saving activities of various medical organizations, including Magen David Adom, the American Heart Association, hospitals, HMOs, and other emergency bodies.
These conferences lead to the enhancement of medical care. The conference allowed experts to connect, share knowledge, and strengthen the joint effort to improve medical care and save lives in Israel and around the world."
Credit: Eliran Avital
