MDA's intensive care bus makes operational debut amid escalation in North

Amid the growing number of rocket barrages during Operation "Northern Arrows," a new and unique Magen David Adom (MDA) intensive care bus, the first of its kind in Israel, embarked on its first operational mission on Monday. 

In this mission, nine premature babies were transported in the specialized bus — which includes seven beds and ten seats — from the Carmel Medical Center in Haifa to a fortified neonatal intensive care unit at the Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa.

The premature babies will continue to be accompanied by the medical staff from Carmel Medical Center during their stay in the neonatal units of the hospitals to which they were transferred," says Dr. Keren Lavia-Nevo, head of the neonatal unit at Carmel Medical Center.

Most of the premature infants were transferred using MDA's bus, which is equipped with advanced technologies and can transport seven patients lying down and ten patients seated. This new vehicle joins MDA's fleet of intensive care buses.

The bus was designed and developed following the lessons learned from October 7 and is capable of treating multiple patients simultaneously using advanced medications available on board, along with a sophisticated oxygen system that enables the simultaneous delivery of oxygen to all patients.

The bus is equipped with advanced intensive care equipment, including monitors, ventilation equipment, and resuscitation gear, and is adapted for emergency transfers with Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) devices.

The bus is staffed by professional medical teams specially trained for this purpose, and patients are loaded using an advanced hydraulic loading system situated on the side of the bus.

Separate complex operation 

In a separate complex operation that took place overnight, and in accordance with a pre-prepared plan under the directive of the Health Ministry, around 50 patients were transferred from unprotected areas at the Carmel Medical Center to other protected hospitals.

The operation was carried out using dozens of ambulances, which swiftly transferred some 40 patients to the protected Rambam center. 

An additional ten patients were transferred to hospitals, including the Rabin Medical Center-Hasharon Campus in Petah Tikva and the Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba.

The operation involved ambulances from the Hian Emergency Medical Services operating in Kafr Yasif and MDA ambulances, including the new ambulance bus that assisted in transferring the neonatal unit to Rambam.

Deputy Director of the Carmel Medical Center, Dr. Eran Segev, said that before the transfer, patients in mild condition were discharged from the medical center as part of a "reducing plan," and other patients from unprotected departments were transferred to protected hospitals.

According to him, medical teams from the Carmel Medical Center will continue to care for the patients transferred to Rambam in a designated hospitalization area within the protected hospital.