On Friday morning, United Hatzalah volunteers from the Mishor Hachof – Merhav Dror chapter gathered at the chapter’s “Volunteer House” (supply and training center) in Ra’anana for a practice session intended to strengthen the EMTs’ proficiency in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

In the middle of the session, the organization’s Dispatch and Commenter Center received a report about a man who fell unconscious in a store close to the Volunteer House.

The EMTs were immediately sent to the incident and drove to the scene in a United Hatzalah emergency car, arriving at the store within mere minutes. There, they initiated a resuscitation protocol which included performing rounds of chest compressions and administering two electric shocks through an AED.

The patient, in his 60s, regained full consciousness at the scene and was evacuated to the nearest hospital in good condition.

Hadar Abulafia, a trainee who participated in the resuscitation effort together with experienced EMTs, recounted after the incident: “This was my first time taking part in CPR in a real-life scenario. Everyone was calm, professional, and cooperated seamlessly with each other. Seeing the man regain full consciousness in front of our eyes, which is extremely rare, was a powerful experience. We received the best result we could have hoped for and most importantly, we are all glad we were there to save this man’s life.”

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