MDA LAUNCHES FIRST YELLOW MOBILE INTENSIVE CARE UNIT

This coming Monday, March 8, 2010, MDA will launch the first bright yellow mobile intensive care unit (MICU) in Israel. The launching will take place at 10:00AM at the MDA station, 2 Rehov Alcalay, Tel Aviv.

MDA General Director, Eli Bin, who initiated the purchase of 30 yellow intensive care units for service in MDA with the aim of making it easier for drivers to identify rescue vehicles on the roads says: “ The new color of rescue vehicles has been proven to be highly prominent. I am convinced that this feature will help MDA crews reach incidents more quickly and safely and even significantly reduce the involvement of MDA’s intensive care units in road accidents.

This is the first time in 80 years that the color of mobile rescue units in MDA’s possession has been changed from white to a different color. MDA thus joins a long line of rescue organizations throughout the world which have carried out the move in recent years for the purpose of overcoming the problem of identifying rescue vehicles in emergency incidents. This was done after it was proven that the color yellow improves visibility of ambulances from a great distance. Within the framework of a first experiment in Israel, 30 mobile intensive care units of the Chevrolet “Savanna” model have been painted in bright yellow and will serve MDA teams in the course of the coming year. MDA has in its possession 800 rescue vehicles, including 320 ambulances and 73 mobile intensive care units.

Oded Wolf, manager of a Chevrolet dealership remarks: “ We are happy about MDA’s launching its first yellow intensive care units and we are proud of the fact that Magen David Adom has chosen the Chevrolet “Savanna” to serve as its modern mobile intensive care unit. The Chevrolet “Savanna” is a many purpose vehicle and the wide variety of roles it performs in the Israel Police, Israel Defense Force and even as a vehicle for the handicapped testifies to its great number of uses. The “Savanna” offers a winning combination of a strong engine, sturdy body and ability to adapt to the personal needs of the consumer. We are confident that MDA will enjoy these features.”  
  
MDA General Director, Eli Bin, believes that changing the color of mobile intensive care units to bright yellow will help MDA personnel, who handle thousands of emergency incidents every year, perform their task more quickly and effectively.