Mifal Hapayis to Deploy 600 Defibrillators at Kiosks

YERUSHALAYIM
A Mifal Hapayis kiosk. (Mendy Hechtman/Flash90)

Mifal Hapayis (the Israel Lottery) has embarked on a program that will install defibrillators that wirelessly connect to Magen David Adom stations around the country. Six hundred of the devices will be deployed at kiosks around the country selling Mifal Hapayis tickets. The program will cost some NIS 5 million, Mifal Hapayis said.

According to the group, the effort is similar to that in a number of countries around the world, including the U.S.A., Austria and France, where defibrillators are required equipment in public facilities. Studies show that administering CPR, electric shock and other treatments immediately after a cardiac incident significantly raises the chances of the patient to return to consciousness. The devices will be stationed outside the kiosks, so they can be available to the public even when the stand is closed. Operation and maintenance of the devices will be MDA’s responsibility.

If a passerby sees someone going into cardiac arrest, they can call MDA and receive instructions on how to proceed, including how to use the defibrillator. They will be able to continue with guidance from professionals at MDA’s Emergency Dispatch Center, as well as with audio instructions from the defibrillator itself, administering electric shocks to the patient while medical teams rush to the scene. The objective is to prevent deterioration of the situation while rescue workers are on the way, thus saving lives. The initiative will be accompanied by a collaborative public campaign with Mifal Hapayis and MDA whose goal is to raise public awareness on the subject.

Mifal Hapayis chairperson Avigdor Itzhaky said that “the goal of this initiative is to save lives. The deployment of defibrillators in the stands of Mifal Hapayis throughout the country could allow, in certain situations, immediate primary treatment in a public space and possibly in certain situations even save the lives of the sick from the most common cause of death in the country and around the world – heart failure.”

According to MDA director general, Eli Bin, “the collaboration with Mifal Hapayis by means of deployment of defibrillators in its stands is an example of a creative cooperation for the sake of saving lives.”

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