The voluntary first-aid and rescue organization United Hatzalah (UH), whose
volunteer paramedics and medics are known to travel everywhere on “ambucycles,”
launched a year ago a pilot project, shown to be successful, to help medical
staffers in hospital emergency rooms.
The project is aimed at improving
the performance of the lifesaving teams by increasing their professional
knowledge and assisting the highly pressured hospital emergency room staffs. UH
volunteers, whose organization doesn’t charge people they help any money, are on
motorcycles to reach scenes of illness and injuries quickly, often before Magen
David Adom ambulances arrive.
At a ceremony on Tuesday, Dr. Shlomo
Yisraelit, head of the urgent are department at Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center
said his institution has deepened its ties with UH because the pilot worked so
well. “Rambam puts the good of the patient at the forefront, so we decided to be
pioneers in their cooperative project. I was pleased to recommend to colleagues
in other hospitals to copy our model,” he said.
At the ceremony, the
volunteers – who come from all strata of society – received certificates and
thanks. UH chairman Zeev Kashash said that it intended to expand the project to
hospitals around the country.
UH Director-General Yoni Gedj added that
this was an important new step in the organization‚ activities that will benefit
the health of patients and their families.