An office worker could be suffering from a heart attack — while someone who could save his life might be, unaware, in a meeting a floor below. This lack of information exchange – Mayor Fulop, the leadership of Jersey City Medical Center and United Rescue believe – should no longer be the difference between life and death, that’s why the city decided to adopt United Hatzalah of Israel’s unique EMS model.

When Jersey City Mayor Steven M. Fulop heard about the United Hatzalah model in Eli Beer’s talk at TEDMED, he knew he found a partner in his passion to find an even better and faster way to save more lives in his state.

Jersey City Medical Center (JCMC) EMS is one of the top EMSs provided in the country as rated by the highly acclaimed Journal of Emergency Medical Services. Its focus on the strategic dispersal of emergency response resources, utilization of demand analysis technology along with a highly trained and motivated team of responders is strikingly similar to the United Hatzalah strategy. United Hatzalah revolutionized the provision of emergency medical response in Israel with its “flash-mob” of ambucycles, LifeCompass GPS technology and community-based rescue volunteers.

Eli Beer, Founder of United Hatzalah, Director of International Development Dov Maisel abdUnited Hatzalah’s International Board Chairman Mark Gerson presented the Israeli model to Jersey City officials. It rapidly became clear that the adapt and adopt approach that was so successful in helping launch United Hatzalah in Panama City, Panama and elsewhere could work just as well in Jersey City, New Jersey.

The program is now known as Community Based Emergency Care (CBEC) and will be organized under the United Rescue banner.

The goal of the CBEC program is to ensure that there is always a cadre of trained and equipped volunteers, who can be instantly located and dispatched from the 911 operator and on any scene in the city immediately. In an emergency, residents will simply continue to call 911, where dispatchers will immediately deploy both an ambulance and a CBEC. CBEC volunteers begin treatment in order to stabilize a patient’s condition until the JCMC EMS arrive on the scene, with an objective of reaching patients within 150 seconds from the time of the emergency call to treatment.

“It took a lot of drive and ‘chutzpa’ to get United Hatzalah launched in Israel and now that it has created proof-of-concept we are confident that it will have similar if not greater success in Jersey City,“ said Eli Beer. The CBEC program under United Rescue will work hand in glove with the JCMC EMS for the benefit of the diverse population of Jersey City.  Beer noted that the existing Hatzolah organizations originated from the creative, practical and unstoppable vision of Hershel Weber in Williamsburg, over 40 years ago and are providing a highly effective service  for the Jewish communities in New Jersey, New York and around the world.

Mark Gerson explained that United Rescue will continue the legacy and pioneering developments of United Hatzalah of Israel to ensure that any city in the US or the world can enjoy its lifesaving benefits.

“We have seen how effective this program is in Israel and we are excited to be the first city in the United States to launch such an innovative, life-saving program“, added Mayor Fulop.

“Jersey City Medical Center looks forward to working closely with the City of Jersey City to ensure that residents have the quickest possible response time in medical emergencies,” said Joseph F. Scott, FACHE – President and CEO, Jersey City Medical Center—Barnabas Health. “We are always exploring new methods and technologies to guarantee we are on the cutting edge of technology.” within moments. “Because of the leadership of Mayor Fulop and the Jersey City Medical Center EMS, Jersey City is poised to become the first city in the United States to deploy a system of community-based emergency caregivers that will enable residents and visitors who suffer from trauma to be treated on the right side of the moments that separate life from death, ” said Mark Gerson.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)