It was perhaps ironic that on the day that a special emergency exercise in the event of a chemical attack in a central neighborhood was held at Rabin Medical Center a real rocket fell in Beer Sheva showing the importance of always being prepared.

In conjunction with Schneider Children's Medical Center and the Israeli Defense Forces, the emergency exercise incorporated over two hundred and fifty reserve soldiers and stuffed dolls, who simulated the wounded victims, and hundreds of other related professionals: medical, fire, police, social workers, psychologists, security personnel, the Ministry of Health and Magen David Adom ambulances.

The exercise was meant to assist Israel in its efforts to be fully prepared to respond to massive causality disasters in the event of any kind of chemical attack and to reduce the loss of life from such an incident. As one of only six level-one trauma centers in Israel, Rabin Medical Center is proud to continue to provide its leadership and resources in an effort to keep Israel at the highest level of preparation in all types of emergencies.

At the conclusion of the exercise a meeting was held to summarize the event and Rabin Medical Center was praised by both the army and all the participating groups for such a successful exercise, showing that they stand ready to handle any type of medical emergency, at any time.