KMG International continues to support the emergency medical services of SMURD at national level by providing resources for rescue training. The Group acquired and donated two mobile training centers based on vans structures to carry out training, extrication and emergency medical assistance programs for SMURD paramedics. The financial support provided by KMG International amounts to 100,000 USD.
"The needs of the public health system are steadily increasing, and we believe in our social duty to contribute to the country's development and to provide healthcare for those in need. This initiative comes as a follow-up to the commitment we made in 2009, when we started both the collaboration with SMURD and a grants program for the medical sector. We have allocated over 5 million USD for healthcare activities in the last years"- Alexey Golovin, VP, KMG International.
The two mobile training centers are fully equipped to conduct optimal educational activities for 16 people, with advanced training dummies, human body simulators, defibrillators, silicone resuscitation equipment, patient extraction equipment for difficult areas, first-aid medical backpacking, patient stabilization and modern IT equipment.
"Through this project, we will contribute to developing the ongoing staff training within SMURD. We will also achieve another very important step from our vision to bring training activities closer to people and have an integrated emergency system, with highly trained specialists at the highest standards in the field. This project would not have been possible without the support of our partner, KMG International, and of the people who chose to direct 2% of their income tax to the SMURD Foundation. We appreciate every given, because, in the end, it’s important to remember that ... Who saves a life, saves a world! "- said Raed Arafat, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the SMURD Foundation.
With the support of the Romanian General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, the mobile training centers will be logistically allocated to the Center and Bucharest-Ilfov region. The SMURD training activity will be carried out with over 10 trainers in all the neighboring counties (Târgu-Mureş, Harghita, Sibiu, Alba, Braşov, Bitriţa-Năsăud, Bucharest-Ilfov), but also in other regions such as Prahova, Constanţa, Craiova, Galati or Iaşi.
The two mobile training centers have been presented for the first time, before their formal entry into service, to the 7th and 8th grade students in Blejoi, Prahova. 120 school students will receive a first-aid course offered by SMURD trainers.
"The life of an endangered person largely depends on the first aider skills. As medical education starts in schools, I am glad that we can offer these first-aid courses given by SMURD trainers to the children in our community"- Adrian Dumitru, Mayor of Blejoi Commune.
Over the past 10 years, KMG International's support to SMURD consisted in JetA1 fuel for aero-medical helicopters, uniforms for volunteers (over 750 at national level), mobile ECMO equipment to support patients' breathing and cardiac functions during their transport to SMURD crews, etc.
In recent years, the KMG International Group has invested more than 8 million USD in community-led development projects at national level, with a total of over 300,000 beneficiaries. Investments in the medical sector, one of the strategic directions of the Group, concerned the modernization and equipping 60 medical units in the country.
About SMURD
The Mobile Emergency Service for Resuscitation and Extrication (SMURD) is a public first aid integration structure operating under the Inspectorates for Emergency Situations, with the air carrier aviation structures of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the General Aviation Inspectorate, and simultaneously, as appropriate, in the structure of local authorities and/or regional and county emergency hospitals.
SMURD intervenes in all situations where the life of patients is endangered, from road accidents to cardiorespiratory stops, mountain accidents and collective accidents, where the time for intervention and the effectiveness of rescue crews in such situations are essential.
In 2017, the SMURD Emergency Service assisted 345,520 emergency cases, 321,971 adults and 32,348 children, with an average of 947 emergencies per day.