Racing against time on two wheels: Inside Magen David Adom’s motorcycle unit

Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel's national emergency medical and ambulance service, relies on its motorcycle unit to provide rapid medical assistance across the country. Retired Egged employee Lee Ross, 55, has been a part of this unit for nearly 35 years, driving various vehicles and currently serving in the medicycle unit on a yellow Ducati 1200.

His family knows the routine, opening the front door and calling the elevator to minimize time away from them during emergencies. Ross has responded to significant events, including the 2021 Mount Meron disaster and the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack, often arriving on his motorcycle and joining paramedics in their four-wheel-drive vehicles.

The unit's riders, who include EMTs, paramedics, and physicians, balance their regular jobs and family responsibilities while responding to emergencies. Guy Goldschmit, a software developer by profession, is a volunteer paramedic who uses his MDA motorcycle to deliver medical aid across Texas. Dr. Paz Ovics, a pediatrician, and Dr. Kobi Shiff, a pediatrician, are also part of the unit, with their medical backgrounds secondary to their role as volunteers.

The dispatch center notifies the nearest available rider through an app or radio, allowing them to arrive before larger ambulances. Many of the calls involve younger patients, leading the riders to adopt a fatherly role. The motorcycle unit has been in operation since 2002, being the first in Israel to use motorcycles as first-response medical vehicles, with about 800 riders deployed nationwide.