About Hatzalah Jersey Shore
How It Started
Hatzalah was started in Brooklyn, New York in the late 1960s by Rabbi Hershel Weber to address a need in the Jewish community for an ambulance service that understood its cultural and religious needs and to improve EMS response time. The organization was a basic first aid group trained in CPR and carrying oxygen. Soon after Hatzalah expanded, and today they have over 80 ambulances and almost 2,000 volunteer EMT’s in the United States. Today Hatzalah is the largest volunteer Emergency Medical Services and ambulance provider in the United States, with numerous branches serving communities throughout the United States and the world.
How It Works
The phone rings at the Hatzalah EMS Dispatch Center. A trained dispatcher, always available, answers the phone. He or she asks vital questions to get the pertinent information. The dispatcher then calls over the Hatzalah two-way radio for the closest volunteer EMT’s (Emergency Medical Technicians) to rush directly to the emergency with his lifesaving equipment. The dispatcher then calls for another volunteer to bring the ambulance to the emergency.
When the first Hatzalah volunteer arrives at the emergency, he decides if any further resources are needed. He may call for more Hatzalah volunteers, more ambulances, paramedics, the fire department, the police department, or anything else that is needed. If he needs additional help, he informs the dispatcher over the Hatzalah two-way radio to call the appropriate resources.
The volunteers treat the immediate problems, and then decide whether the patient needs to go to the Emergency Room. If the patient does need to go to the hospital, the ambulance rushes the patient to the hospital.
At the hospital, the Hatzalah volunteers brief the hospital staff, and transfer the patient to their care.
Who we are - What we do
Important note:
Some people have a tendency (especially on Shabbat) to search for an individual Hatzalah member in an emergency, either by going to their home or going to shul etc. This can result in significant delays in obtaining help and is strongly discouraged in cases involving potentially serious illness or injury. Calling the Hatzalah number is the most reliable way to obtain help quickly.
Remember: If you are unsure whether or not you need Hatzalah always call (even on Shabbat) and let the dispatcher know that you are unsure. (Special thanks Dovid Kaplan, North Jersey Hatzalah & Crown Heights Hatzalah for the use of this paragraph taken from their websites)
---
Hatzalah is an Hebrew/Aramaic word for "Rescue." We are a First Aid Squad staffed by over 30 volunteers utilizing 4 ambulances. We operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week including on Shabbat and Yom Tov. There is absolutely no charge to our community for utilizing our emergency services. We also provide many other important services such as searches for missing people, and have plans to provide community safety and first aid training programs.
You see them every day of the week - including Shabbat and Yom Tov, and at all times of the day and night; dashing out of their homes, shops and shuls in order to perform acts of chesed (good deeds). They interrupt participation in joyous family simchas (celebrations) and even when praying to Hashem (G-d) during the most serious days of the Jewish calendar (Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur), in order to try and save the life of another human being. In many cases, they do not even know who that person is.
They are the selfless volunteer members of the Hatzalah of Jersey Shore, who for the past few years have responded immediately during the coldest days of the winter or the hottest days of the summer, to desperate calls for help to dozens of various types of medical emergencies, in which a quick response time can mean the difference between a chance at continued life or a devastating tragedy for family members.
The individuals who join Hatzalah are screened to make sure that they are responsible members of the community. After being chosen, they are put through a thorough training program that includes dozens of hours of classes and self-study of medical first aid texts. Members must undergo special New Jersey State certified exams and only those who pass with high marks are allowed to join Hatzalah. They make a commitment to devote dozens, if not hundreds of hours over the course of a year to respond to anxious calls for help. And they do so for free, without any thought of payment.
Although, the organization was established by members of the Jersey Shore Jewish community, the volunteer members respond to medical emergencies to any member of the neighborhood, without regard to race, religion or ethnic background of the individual in need. Many non-Jews have come to respect the professional skills of Hatzalah volunteers and are quick to call the group when a medical emergency occurs.
Today, there are hundreds, if not thousands of people who are walking on the streets only because of the timely response that they received from volunteers of Hatzalah to life-threatening medical emergencies that they suffered. One of the reasons the group is able to respond to emergencies so quickly is the fact that they live and work in the community. This enables the dedicated members of Hatzalah to reach any point in the community within moments of the call for help being sent out over special radios by the group dispatcher.
Indeed for the dozens of Jersey Shore Hatzalah volunteers, their commitment to serve is almost a religious mission. In Judaism, there is a strong emphasis of Tikun Haolam - repairing the world. What better way than to help save a human life. Indeed, the Mishna declares, "One who saves a single life, it is as if he had saved an entire universe." These words truly characterize the attitudes of Hatzalah members who take pride also in fulfilling the Torah dictum of "Veahavta lireacha kimocha/love your fellow man like yourself." Unlike many moral and ethical people who merely mouth pious statements, the volunteers of Hatzalah make a living demonstration of their service to both G-d and fellow man, often at the expense of precious time with their spouses and children.
Unlike the official 911 E.M.S. crews and service that benefit from both city and state funding, the Jersey Shore Division of Hatzalah is totally dependent on caring people like you to make generous tax-deductible donations.
These dozens of selfless community members devote countless hours throughout the years to assisting and saving the lives of others is one of the greatest mitzvahs that we are privileged to see. But, this incredible miracle cannot exist without the financial support of the people in the community who have an appreciation for the great chesed (kindness) service that Hatzalah volunteers perform on a routine basis. The cost of maintaining and insuring the ambulances and other life-saving medical equipment routinely utilized over the course of a year by Hatzalah members runs into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Unlike the Hatzalah organizations of other prominent Jewish communities in the Metropolitan New York area, Jersey Shore Hatzalah is a smaller community that does not have the services of full-time professional fundraisers. Therefore, your help is so very desperately needed. Remember, what goes around, comes around, and with your much needed help, Hatzalah of Jersey Shore will still be able to be around to respond to the thousands of frantic pleas for help that may come in this coming year.
Please take the time to carefully reflect upon this great mitzvah and then kindly send a generous tax-deductible donation that will bring you benefits not only in this world, but also in Olam Haba (the World to Come).
Hatzalah response is not limited to the Jewish community; when any major incident happens - outside the Jewish community - and Hatzalah receives the call, we respond. Our interaction and cooperation with other EMS, Police, Fire, Paramedic, and other agencies leads to better understanding and relationships with the Jewish communities. When an emergency occurs, having an EMT who is knowledgeable and understanding of the Jewish laws, languages, and cultural nuances, lends a great deal of comfort to both the patient and family, and can also diffuse potentially uncomfortable scenarios.
Hatzalah helps improve the response time throughout its coverage areas, and even outside of its areas, by adding more EMT’s and ambulances to the system, thereby freeing up other ambulances to respond more quickly to other calls.
Hatzalah does not provide non-emergency (pre-scheduled) ambulance transport.