Doctor's Day in the reserves: The reserve battalion of Hadassah doctors is marking Doctor's Day 2024, which will take place tomorrow (Thursday) in the field. The senior medical division of the reserve battalion of the northern Nahal Brigade consists mostly of Hadassah Medical Center staff.
The two doctors and the paramedic work together at Hadassah Mount Scopus and serve in the reserves in the same battalion. When the war began, the three were sent to the northern border, where they took care of the soldiers, trained the medics and strengthened each other. The reserve battalion in the Alon Brigade, the Northern Nahal Brigade, composed of veterans of the Nahal Brigade, which was recruited at the beginning of the war for operations in the north, boasts senior medical leadership, mostly from Hadassah, with three of the four senior medical staff members members of Hadassah Mount Scopus: Dr. Jonathan Barbie, diagnostic radiologist, Dr. Shmuel Elchanan Zshurawal, an internal medicine specialist specializing in geriatrics, and Mordechai Ben Harush, Paramedic from the X-ray department. The three meet daily in the corridors of the hospital and now in the field, in the reserves.
"Our acquaintance is from working together at the hospital for many years, and when we came to the battalion as reservists eight years ago, we were very happy to see familiar faces and friends for the daily work from the hospital. It's good to know that good friends of yours from work at the hospital are with you during a complex and difficult time when you're away from home," says Dr. Jonathan Barbie.
Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital, Photo: Oren Ben Hakon
On October 7, when the war broke out, the three of them were called up to reserve duty and arrived together at the northern border: "When the war broke out, I immediately called Jonathan and Mordechai, it was clear that it was one package. At first we didn't understand the magnitude of the incident, but we immediately organized ourselves and started driving when during a long car ride we hear updates on the radio, the difficult picture is becoming clearer and we understand the magnitude of the disaster," Dr. Shmuel Elchanan describes. Since that Shabbat, all three have been in the field, maintaining the battalion's medical readiness. "We serve as the senior medical staff in the battalion and as part of our job, we maintain and improve the battalion's medical readiness in routine times and of course now during the war," emphasizes Mordechai.
The battalion's medical system maintains the fitness of the medics and treats exceptional incidents accompanied by injuries over the past few weeks. Dr. Shmuel Elchanan says of one of them: "We went through a significant incident when a soldier was seriously wounded by shrapnel in the throat. We gave him immediate treatment together and he was out of danger and continued treatment at the hospital. Each of us knew his role, we worked as a team in full cooperation and there is no doubt that the deep familiarity between us contributes to this." Dr. Barbie adds: "The long routine of the war and the long stay in the field leads to additional medical treatments: because the war is prolonging and we are not in the battalion for only a day or two, beyond medical treatment in exceptional events, we also provide a medical response to soldiers in routine medicine, and this really includes a wide range of cases and providing help, which keeps everyone fit and ready for any situation and any scenario."
IDF activity in the Gaza Strip, photo: IDF Spokesperson
The two doctors and the paramedic, who have been on the northern border for three months, support each other and work together. According to them, the shared background from that "habitat" is part of the ability to operate over a long period of time for the benefit of the entire battalion. "The fact that we know from working at Hadassah improves our ability to function even in field conditions. We consult with each other, train each other and do everything so that the battalion's medical response will be the best. It's a benefit for everyone, and especially for the soldiers who need our response." The three are proud to say that when they needed additional equipment for medical missions in the field, it was Hadassah's management that joined their request and donated medical equipment and medicines for the doctors and fighters in the field.
"We contacted the hospital management with a list of equipment that we were missing in the field. We received an immediate response to everything we needed, and it was good for us to know that the hospital was behind us and gave us full backing even during the war. Everyone is here for everyone."
Wrong? We'll fix it! If you find a mistake in the article, please share with us