Unique Advanced Life Support Boat dedicated by MDA in the Sea of Galilee
The new boat-bulance which is outfitted with advanced technologies has joined MDA’s lifesaving fleet * the boat-bulance can reach the beaches at any location in the Sea of Galilee and will assist in providing advanced life support care to victims in the Sea of Galilee and on the beaches * the new boat is able to operate under difficult conditions and will be able to arrive twice as fast to treat patients
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MDA's intensive care boat-bulance stationed at the Sea of Galilee is equipped with innovative technology, and will shorten the arrival times for the sick and injured in the Sea of Galilee and on the shores. The boat-bulance has a unique ability to reach the beach at any point around the Sea of Galilee and moor close enough to the shore to allow the team members to disembark and load the patient without setting foot in the water or getting wet. The boat will also be able to shorten the arrival times for handling road accidents on Roads 90 and 92, by quickly crossing the Sea of Galilee and mooring near these main roads.
The new Boat-bulance has joined the current boat-bulance and MDA jet-ski which began operations in 2019 in the Sea of Galilee, one of the most challenging terrains in Israel. Dozens of lives have been saved in each summer season. Since its innauguration last week, the boat crew has responded to a number of incidents within the Sea of Galilee and on the shores, including: a 21-year-old man who was seriously injured by a boat rudder, a 12-year-old boy who became dehydrated during a cruise, hit his head and lost consciousness during a trip to the pier, provided an initial response to a two-month-old baby who was burned by hot water at Keinar Beach and more.
Today, the Magen David Adom boat-bulance allows the arrival of MDA EMTs and paramedics with advanced medical equipment to patients in the waters of the Sea of Galilee or on the beaches as they arrive quickly by sea, with a response time of less than 8 minutes.
The new sea-ball boat donated by Leonard and Feigel Shapiro through Canadian Magen David Adom led by the association's president Joseph Amzalag and Calgary branch manager Sharon Freiman, will dock at Lido Beach in Tiberias - West Coast Center. This location allows quick access to any of the beaches to the east and to the west at an equal distance, so that the boat-bulance team will be able to shorten the evacuation time to the hospital and save the ambulance and Mobile Intensive Care Unit’s travel on the congested arteries around the Sea of Galilee. Using the boat, MDA team members will be able to evacuate patients from all corners of the sea to the beach next to it - where they will meet the waiting ambulances and mobile intensive care units.
The boat – Lander model, is resistant to damage and dents that can be caused by rocks and vegetation and able to reach the shoreline. With two advanced engines, it reaches a speed of up to 35 knots (more than 60 km / h) even in extremely complex sea conditions. The special boat, the first of its kind as a lifeboat, can carry up to 1,000 kg and carry 8 crew members and patients. In addition, the boat is equipped with lights to be able to navigate in the dark, with advanced life support medical equipment, which includes a defibrillator, respiratory equipment, a stretcher and more.
"The new boat will operate in all sea conditions and is designed to provide medical assistance at the advanced life support level for all who need us - on the beach and especially in the water. Among the cases were: people who drowned, who are on a boat and feel ill, or were injured in boat accidents" explains Yossi Halabi, Manager of the Immediate Response Department in the MDA Operations Division. Yossi led the project on behalf of MDA in conjunction with the Shipping and Ports Authority. "The bow of the boat opens as well to allow easy loading of the patient both in the water and on the beaches."
"The new boat-bulance is changing MDA's operating concept in treating patients and wounded in the waters of the Sea of Galilee and the beaches around it," explains MDA Deputy Director General of Operations Gil Moskowitz. “an added advantage to this new boat-bulance is that it can treat multiple patients which require intensive care, along with shortening the arrival times for handling major arteries thanks to the strategic location and capabilities of the new boat. "
"Canadian Magen David Adom are proud to take part in MDA's initiative to operate the advanced life support boat-bulance in the Sea of Galilee and dedicate the new boat," said Sydney Benizri, CEO of Canadian Magen David Adom, adding: "The boat is equipped with the most advanced medical equipment to operate under all weather conditions. It will give MDA the ability to treat the wounded and sick even in the heart of the Sea of Galilee, 24 hours a day."
MDA Director General Eli Bin praised the project: "It is very exciting to dedicate today MDA's second boat-bulance that will provide advanced life support in the waters of the Sea of Galilee. This is yet another and very significant means of saving lives here. I congratulate our dear donors from Canada, Leonard and Feigel Shapiro and their families. In MDA’s Yarden Region there is great significance to the ability to cross from the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee to its southern shore or from east to west - this ability that allows us to significantly improve our capabilities and reach all patients. I hope the boat will not deal with exceptional cases, and will ensure the safety of those at the beaches and on vacation in Tiberias and areas surrounding the Sea of Galilee, should it need to, I am confident that you, the teams in the field will do an excellent job as you do in all the special ways and capabilities available to you. I thank all those involved in the project."
