On Sunday, July 25, a mobile intensive care unit (MICU) ambulance was dedicated at a special ceremony at the Magen David Adom (MDA) station in Julis, a Druze village in northern Israel slightly northeast of Akko. It was made possible thanks to donations from Mounhal Hamoud, the owner of the Merkaza department store chain, and the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), a longtime MDA partner.
“I thank Mr. Mounhal Hamoud for his generous donation and the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews for the many years of cooperation that led to the dedication of the first intensive mobile care unit in a Druze community in the Galilee, which will help save lives,” said Eli Bin, MDA director-general. Over the years, IFCJ has donated ambulances and hundreds of defibrillators deployed in public places and synagogues.
MDA’s fleet of 1,200 ambulances includes some 400 MICUs. The MICU will provide an advanced medical response to the residents of the local council and the surrounding areas, and will greatly help to improve the medical response provided by Magen David Adom to the many motorists on nearby roads 70 and 85. Until now, one standard life support ambulance operated at the station. The MICU will help in the treatment of complex emergencies and as the second ambulance in the community, will help shorten the arrival times of MDA staff.
“I want to thank MDA, our partners for many years,” said Safwan Mreeh, director of security and minorities at IFCJ. “I’m sure we will continue to save lives together in the future. I thank the council and the dignitaries who are here; without them it would not have happened. We are here because this special, community-minded place knows how to work professionally to save lives.”
The MDA Julis Station is the center of many unique humanitarian activities for the residents of the area, such as collecting and distributing food for the Feast of Sacrifice, assisting MDA with blood drives, and providing special presentations in schools. The station is staffed by some 130 employees and volunteers; about 70 are youth volunteers. Another 150 residents of the council have been certified as life guardians, including doctors, nurses and other residents and people of the surrounding localities. For the past year and a half, MDA volunteers in Julis have activated Covid test sites and led the vaccination campaign during which thousands of residents, including youths, were vaccinated.
“I stand here today excited and happy,” said Mounhal Hamoud. “It is a great honor for me to be a part of this important initiative. I wish good luck to everyone and thank the partners wholeheartedly. We will continue to do all we can to help the residents of Julis.”
