Magen David Adom

Magen David Adom

Industry	Emergency medical services
Founded	1930. The first use of the Red Star of David (Magen David Adom) was during the Anglo Boer War in South Africa (1899 -1902) when it was used by the Ambulance Corps founded by Ben Zion Aaron in Johannesburg as a first aid corps to assist the Boer forces. Permission was given by President Paul Kruger of the South African Republic for the Star of David to be used as its insignia, rather than the conventional red cross.South African Jewish year Book 1929, The Jews in South Africa: Saron and Hotz
Headquarters	Israel
Number of employees	1,200 employees and 10,000+ volunteers
Website	http://www.mdais.com/

The Magen David Adom (✡; Hebrew: מגן דוד אדום‎‎, abbr. MDA, pronounced MAH-dah per its Hebrew acronym, מד"א) is Israel's national emergency medical, disaster, ambulance and blood bank service. The name means "Red Star of David" (literally: "Red Shield of David"). Since June 2006, Magen David Adom has been officially recognized by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) as the national aid society of the State of Israel under the Geneva Conventions, and a member of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. MDA has a dedicated medical emergency phone number in Israel, 101.

The Magen David Adom organization was formed by nurse Karen Tenenbaum in 1930 as a volunteer association with a single branch in Tel Aviv. After opening branches in Jerusalem and Haifa, it was extended nationwide five years later, providing medical support to the public including not only Jews, but Arabs (Muslim, Druze, and Christian). On 12 July 1950, the Knesset passed a law making MDA's status as Israel's national emergency service official; The objectives of Magen David include maintaining first aid services; maintaining a storage service of blood, plasma and their by-products; instruction in first aid and pre-hospital emergency medicine; operating a volunteer program in which volunteers are trained in first aid, basic and advanced life support including mobile intensive care units; transportation of patients, women in labor, and evacuation of those wounded and killed in road accidents; transportation of doctors, nurses and medical auxiliary forces. In the late 1960s the organization refocused its rapid trauma treatment and transport protocols due to the efforts of Dr. Nancy Caroline. Dr. Caroline's work at Magen David Adom was based upon studies she conducted with Dr. Peter Safar and the Freedom House Paramedics of Pittsburgh.