(By: Sandy Eller)

Well over a thousand people flocked to Hatzalah & EMS Expo 22, a two day event for the emergency medical services industry featuring classes, vendors, demonstrations, awards and a variety of other opportunities.

The Hatzalah EMS Expo debuted last year as the first EMS trade show in the New York City area, drawing over 500 Hatzalah volunteers as well as members of other agencies. The event was so successful that it was clear that this year’s expo needed to be moved to a larger venue to accommodate a massive global turnout that included Hatzalah branches, EMS agencies and first responders.

Held on October 30th and 31st at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus and presented by Cross River, the expo was a microcosm of the Hatzalah universe. In addition to drawing volunteers from local branches in the tri-state area, attendees included Hatzalah members from as far away as Cleveland, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Ramat Beit Shemesh. More than 40 vendors dotted the expo floor, with over 50 ambulances and emergency response vehicles on display from communal Hatzalah branches including Hatzalah Air. The show floor was busy throughout the event, with participants interacting animatedly with exhibitors whose offerings ran the gamut, ranging from ambulances and specialty emergency vehicles to EMS software and communication specialists, as well as medical and uniform suppliers, and everything in between. Also of particular interest was a state of the art ambulance dispatch system displayed by the expo’s silver sponsor, Magen David Adom, which is already being used in a modified format by Hatzalah of South Florida.

Hatzalah paramedics from the tri-state area and beyond took advantage of the expo’s educational component sponsored and presented by Center for Allied Health Education, which is owned by Hatzalah paramedic Jerry Rozenberg, RL-101. The Hatzalah International Training Symposium, more commonly known as HITS, featured 20 minute Ted-style talks, a panel discussion led by Hatzalah medical directors and a series of lectures and workshops designed to give members the ability to provide cutting-edge pre-hospital care. The symposium offered an additional bonus to New York-based paramedics – an opportunity to earn state-approved Continuing Medical Education credits which are necessary for recertification.

“With so many hundreds of Hatzalah paramedics, EMTs and doctors in one room and our medical board running the classes, participants were able to cover a wide array of topics and ask so many different questions that guys came away with really substantial knowledge,” said Chevra Hatzalah CEO Rabbi Yehiel Kalish, known within the organization as CEO-1.

Following on the heels of last year’s meeting of international Hatzalah coordinators at the expo, this year’s event included separate meetings of both international and New York City coordinators and leadership, sponsored by SeniorCare EMS. The expo also featured an award presentation, with United for Protection recognized for bringing the Jewish community together during COVID by writing a sefer Torah and launching the Hatzalah-Thon fundraiser, which has raised upwards of $50 million dollars for Hatzalah branches worldwide since its debut.

One of the highlights of the expo was the Hatzalah Museum, featuring items dating back to the volunteer corps’ earliest days including photographs, vintage lifesaving equipment, badges, jackets and license plates. The ambulance that carried Rav Moshe Feinstein’s aron to his levaya, restored at cost by Oshri Shalmoni and museum founder Noson Josephy after sitting in a Lower East Side parking lot for more than 30 years, was a centerpiece of the museum, while rows of tea lights bearing the Hatzalah numbers of 84 departed members was another emotional component of the display. With Hatzalah now in its fourth generation, some of the more senior members grew nostalgic seeing some of the original equipment, while younger members were astonished to see the evolution of emergency medical devices over the years.

The founding fathers of Hatzalah were among those who were on hand for the expo. Rabbi Hershel Weber, known within Hatzalah as OG – the original – beamed proudly as Hatzalah members young and old came to greet him, with several asking for brachos and others reverently bringing their children to meet the man whose concern for his fellow Jew ultimately launched the organization. Rabbi Edgar Gluck, Hatzalah’s ST-1 – State 1- made the rounds of Hatzalah volunteers eager to shake his hand and gave a firsthand account of the history of the memorabilia in the Hatzalah Museum.

Naftali Solomon RL-45 of the Chevra G’mach, which provides multiple services to Hatzalah members, found the expo to be extremely productive, saying that he had discussed franchising the gamach concept to Hatzalah branches in cities including Chicago, Houston, Boston and South Florida. Robby Lederman, Flatbush Hatzoloh’s F-78, categorized the expo as an invaluable experience for volunteers.

“There was a lot of hugging and handshaking,” said Lederman. “It was an amazing idea to bring Hatzalah members from all areas, cities, states and even countries together under one roof to network, mingle, meet with vendors and take advantage of a valuable educational opportunity.”

Hatzalah member JS-32 David Kushner attended the expo on behalf of Amudim, distributing 825 lifesaving Narcan kits to Hatzalah volunteers. He described the event as a laid back, but informative, setting for members to learn, grow, share, and inspire other each other.

“The expo is a rare and tremendous opportunity for Hatzalah members to connect and interface with each other beyond the individual neighborhoods where we live, work and serve,” observed Kushner.

Josephy, Hatzolah member B-64, noted the expo also gave other members of the EMS world a chance to learn more about Hatzalah’s expertise, as well as the magnitude of its operations.

“They couldn’t believe that Hatzalah has been around for so long and the amount of equipment that we carry in our ambulances and our personal vehicles,” said Josephy. “One person who saw one of our full ambulances said, ‘we don’t carry a quarter amount of the equipment that you guys have.’”

As an executive board member of Chevra Hatzalah, Hatzolah member Bentzy Lebovitz B-84 said that this year’s expo surpassed all expectations.

“I was so proud to witness everyone coming together with the common goal of saving a life,” said Lebovitz. “Ultimately that’s what Hatzalah is all about and that’s why we’re here.”

PHOTOS VIA MENACHEM ECKSTEIN / NUSSY B-64

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)