ISRAEL, — A prominent Indianapolis emergency room doctor is in Israel right now.
Dr. Louis Profeta, an emergency room physician with Ascension St. Vincent, volunteered to travel there and help treat trauma victims.
Four days ago, he kissed his wife goodbye in Indiana and flew to Israel to work in a war zone.
He's been stationed in a hospital on the northern border near Lebanon since Saturday.
"We're in the north, so we're right within Hezbollah rocket range," Profeta said. "In fact, we wake up every night and you can hear the jets going overhead, and you can hear explosions. You can see smoke rising in the distance. We have a bunker right outside our hotel room, so it's literally walk out the door and run into the bunker. I haven't had to use it yet, thank goodness."
Profeta said he's one of around 6,000 doctors who volunteered to go to Israel.
He calls it a noble cause, honoring his Jewish heritage, supporting an American ally and helping to heal those in need.
"It was the right thing to do. I mean, this is Israel. They're in a crisis. They're our friends," Profeta said. "I think that the morale boost that we give, knowing that there are people that are in this world that care about them, is immeasurable."
On his Facebook page, Profeta shared photos and video of the ER at Galilee Medical Center, which is protected against and prepared for danger.
Profeta said regular patients are now kept in underground areas for safety.
"Your operating rooms and your emergency department are in massive, sort-of fortified bunkers," Profeta said.
He's spent most of his time training up medical staff on how to manage mass trauma, all in hopes they don't have to use it.
"Every nurse, every tech, every respiratory therapist, pharmacist that's available is coming in, they're learning how to do chest tubes, how to do IV access, rapid stabilization assessment of multiple trauma victims...and we are seeing trauma victims," Profeta said.
Even with the risks of war, this Hoosier said he felt compelled to help — and he said he's been through worse.
"I spent seven months in the hospital with my kid with cancer. This is a hiccup," Profeta said. "COVID was pretty tough too, but it's just another challenge. It's not the biggest."
Profeta is set to be in Israel through mid-November, but he's praying peace comes soon.