United Hatzalah and IDF 669 Unit Hold Collaborative Training Drill in Multiple Locations

On Monday evening, the IDF’s elite search and rescue unit known as 669 held an active drill in cooperation with United Hatzalah EMS personnel and Israel’s Search and Rescue Units. Volunteers from Beit Shemesh, Rehovot, Ramla and Lod, joined together with the helicopter evacuation unit of 669 in order to practice emergency evacuations under a variety of conditions in the field. The drill took place in two locations simultaneously, simulating the need for multiple extraction points during a time of crisis. The EMS personnel were required to treat the “victims” in the field and prepare them for transport by helicopter, a process far more complex than regular ambulance transport. Chapter head of United Hatzalah in Mevaseret, Ophir Ben Yitzchak said: “This drill was held to help hone our skills in treating patients in the field as well as preparing them for emergency evacuation via helicopter. We ran drills utilizing stretcher carries and placing patients in the helicopter. The IDF 669 unit drilled continued care of the patient as well as receiving patients from local EMS personnel and treating them mid-flight. I headed one of the emergency evacuation sites while Dotan Ram headed the other. The drill succeeded in achieving all of the goals we set out for ourselves and the cooperation between all of the forces in the field went smoothly.”
Source: JEMS: Journal of Emergency Medical Services News - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Training News Operations Source Type: news