As Lakewood continues to take on its next growth spurt, the Vaad of Hatzolah announced the hiring of Rabbi Yisroel Feldman as the CEO of Lakewood Hatzolah. In the capacity of CEO, Rabbi Feldman will be undertaking the responsibility of supporting the Vaad, the captains and the members thus enabling them to focus on their lifesaving mission while the administrative and planning work is being organized and dealt with by the new CEO.

The growth of the Lakewood community has been getting a lot of attention lately in different articles and Jewish media outlets. The US census bureau has identified Lakewood as the fastest growing town in New Jersey. What is less exposed in these articles is the back stage of the various organizations within our Kehilah and how each of them from the schools to social organizations are each grappling with their own techniques to address the pressing needs and requirements of the growing Lakewood kehilah.
 
Lakewood Hatzolah is no different in its stride to escalate its processes to address the growing kehilah’s requirements. Hatzolah  is uniquely challenged since it needs to address Lakewood’s growth in population and geography. Hatzolah has been strategically planning for years and BH successfully always been ahead of the curve in addressing the expansion issues of the organization and the emergency medical needs of the kehilah.

Rabbi Feldman comes with a background of being the comptroller of teh FDNY which oversees the FD and the EMS in NYC. Rabbi Feldman also worked and volunteered at many religious organizations and is familiar with both EMS and communal responsibilities. 
 
“The mission of the new CEO position is to bring together all the functions of Hatzolah under a consolidated organized system”, Hatzolah says. “Operations, financial, administrative, legal, government affairs, technology and future planning will all be supported under one platform which will tremendously aid  the healthy growth of the organization”.
 
Aside from the growth of the call volume which in some recent days has peaked to over 20 responses a day, we all have been following the recent terrorist threats surrounding 9/11 of this year, the earthquake that was felt in Lakewood and Hurricane Irene that hit Lakewood.

“They have all been a wake up call that Hatzolah as an organization has to plan and be prepared for CH’V any potential disaster that should hopefully never come”.

At the inaugural meeting between Rabbi Feldman the Vaad of Hatzolah and the Captains of Hatzolah many discussions ensued of coordinated efforts to shift Hatzolah into a bigger mindset with larger capabilities.

“The captains were impressed with Rabbi Feldman’s commitment to their critical life saving mission”, says Hatzolah. “Rabbi Feldman and the captains left the meeting feeling that  future of Hatzolah looks bright with many disciplines of experience coming together for the safety and benefit of each individual residing in Lakewood”.

(Source: TLS)