Magen David Adom

Israel has one single national EMS service –  Magen David Adom (MDA), whose name refers to the red star of David symbol. Started as a non-profit organization in 1930, it was formalized in 1950 by an act of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, to be the official national EMS. The goals of the MDA are what one expects: provide first aid, collect and handle blood donations and back up the Israeli military in times of war.

The organization grew and matured over the years to be an organization with some 2,000 full-time employees, but staffed as well by about 10,000 volunteers who do everything from helping run blood donation drives to being part of an ambulance crew. MDA’s mandate includes teaching first aid, and thousands of courses are given each year out of which most of the volunteers graduate.

Magen David Adom gets government funding, but also relies on donations from abroad to provide services to Israel’s more than 9 million citizens. The budget has to cover the operation and maintenance of an impressive list of assets including a national call center, nine regional call centers, 1,100 ambulances including 379 mobile intensive care units, 650 first-aid motorcycle units, three helicopters  a slew of related vehicles like refrigerated vans for transporting blood and other state-of-the-art equipment.