(Communicated by the MDA Spokesperson)
The Second MDA 2008 Olympics came to an end at the Dead Sea with an award distribution ceremony to top place winners.
After two days of competitions under difficult weather conditions in the Dead Sea area, the Second MDA Olympics came to a close. More than 200 first aid providers and paramedics from Israel and 12 other countries around the world competed in two days of contests, facing challenging and difficult scenarios - rapelling, rescue of injured and wounded with the aid of a helicopter, riding on camels to a Bedouin encampment to save a choking infant, providing care in conventional and non-conventional scenarios as well as administering life saving care to the sick and injured suffering from trauma and cardiac problems. All this, together with countless exciting experiences, joyful victories, alongside heart-breaking disappointments. The 2008 MDA Olympics ended with a traditional closing ceremony, featuring the distribution of awards to the three highest place winners in different levels: mobile intensive care/ intensive care ambulance crews and regular ambulance crews.
Some 200 paramedics and first aid providers from Magen David Adom, the Israel Defense Forces and international rescue organizations participated this year, including missions from Canada, Czech Republic, England, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Jordan, Norway, Poland, Turkey and USA.
An International EMS (Emergency Medical Services) Conference was held in Ein Gedi during the last day of the Championship, with the participation of top Israeli and international experts from the USA, the Netherlands, France, Ireland, Spain and Austria.
The competing categories:
Mobile intensive care crews from Israel:
1st place winners: Carmel Region, with paramedics Daniel Greenspan and Michael Abu, first aid provider Ariel Krieger and volunteer Rotem Mizrachi.
2nd place winners: Ayalon Region crew
3rd place winners: Yarkon Region crew
Mobile intensive care crews from abroad:
1st place winners: Poland
2nd place winners: Holland (2 crews participating)
3rd place winners: Delaware, USA.
Regular ambulance crews:
1st place winners: Gilboa Region with first aid providers Meital Refaeli and Lior Markowitz, volunteers Sagi Avramov and Yonatan Harush
2nd place winners: Negev Region crew
3rd place winners: Lachish Region crew
The Jerusalem Region ambulance team was also highly commended for their professional achievements.
This year MDA Director General Eli Bin decided to award the 1st place crew winners with a raise in rank and a professional tour of the Red Cross in Geneva. At the closing ceremony, the Director General noted the brotherly feelings between the participants and the spirit of sportsmanship among the contestants, who competed in what they perform best every day - saving lives.