This week, Shaare Zedek and Israel Police joined forces to run a Trauma Preparedness Drill at Shaare Zedek Medical Center.
In a partnership between the hospital’s Level 1 Trauma Unit and the Israel Police’s Medical Division, police teams from across the force had the chance to experience drills that simulated situations that officers were confronted with on October 7th.
Hundreds of Israel Police officers spent a full day of training at the hospital. The drills were designed to help officers make quick and effective life-saving decisions in the field.
They received training by Shaare Zedek doctors and nurses in advanced first-aid procedures and how to communicate in real-time with hospitals to prepare them for the arrival of casualties.
As part of the event, Dr. Valerie Shoshan, Commander of the Israel Police’s Medical Division, presented Shaare Zedek Director General Prof. Ofer Merin with a Commendation for the hospital’s establishment of the Level 1 Trauma Unit and for the close collaboration between the Police and the hospital over many years.
Shaare Zedek’s Trauma Unit is widely recognized as one of Israel’s most active facilities for trauma response and treats a large number of injuries from terrorist attacks in the Jerusalem region.
Dr. Schwartz said, “Over the past six months, we have accrued a great deal of experience in treating war-related injuries and this provided us the chance to share some of those lessons with the police teams, as our close collaboration can be critical in saving lives. Our focus today was in drilling possible scenarios, sharing tips, and in general providing any advice that could assist the police in their critical jobs at this time. The day was extremely successful in all these areas and we thank the Israel Police for coming to learn and committing to further improve our working relationship”
Professor Merin added, “In these challenging times, collaboration between the hospitals and the security establishment is so important and it is critical that we work to learn from each other in ways that can directly save lives. We are very thankful to the Israel Police for their ongoing partnership and to our Trauma Unit that has been so instrumental in their life-saving work all throughout this war.
Yuval Ben Moshe, Deputy Commander of the Medical Operations Division of the Israel Police said, “We are living in truly historic times on the national, organizational and personal levels, and training days like these are a reflection of our commitment to learning and strengthening the operational capabilities of the Israel Police. Today has helped enhance our commitment to the most ethical and professional response to the needs of the people we serve. That was the objective of these exercises – to move forward in our training so as to be even better prepared to treat people and optimize our medical operational readiness.”