The Chillul Hashem that played out last week in a public forum has shook me to the core. As a member of Chevra Hatzolah, I can’t help but feel the need to stand up for the organization for which I proudly volunteer and defend them for the way they have been portrayed by the liberal media.
Last week there was a public hearing hosted by the Ambulance committee of the NYC Regional EMS Council (NYC REMSCO). The intent of the hearing was to allow the public, as mandated by law, to comment both for and against the request to approve the application for a Certificate of Need for an ambulance to be issued to the organization known as Ezras Nashim. Many of those that attended on behalf of Ezras Nashim as well as the general public that attended, felt that Hatzolah was a misogynistic organization and that they were disrespecting females by not allowing them to join as emergency responders. Ezras Nashim’s argument was that women have a right to choose who should be able to treat them in their times of need.
Before we discuss the need for or against having an organization such as Ezras Nashim I would like to explain the issue from my perspective about having women become responding members of Hatzolah. On the surface, this seems like a great idea. For certain types of sensitive medical emergencies, it would make sense for female responders to treat and transport women to the hospital. For the record I would like to state that Hatzolah has no issues with working with females during the course of emergencies. As is often the case we routinely work with other agencies during the course of an event. As we do not mandate who works with us, whoever shows up to assist us is appreciated regardless of who they are. This can be female EMS personal, police officers and even fire fighters. There are many female doctors in the facilities that we transport both from and to. I have personally transported on a Hatzolah ambulance, on multiple occasions, with female paramedics from other agencies who have always proven to be consummate professionals. Clearly Hatzolah does not consider women as secondary citizens, so what’s the issue with having them join Hatzolah as regular members?
The Vaad HaRabbonim, dating back to the founding of Hatzolah, were all well aware of the concerns and considerations regarding having male Hatzolah members treat female patients. Where there was no choice, due to coverage gaps in times of needs, they actually allowed female members to participate following strict guidelines. Over the years, as coverage became better in those areas that were lacking, those neighborhoods that utilized women gradually stopped doing so. The Vaad HaRabbonim ultimately came to the decision that the tznius issues of men and women working together in various circumstances, at all hours of the day and night, was a bigger issue than men treating women during medical emergencies which though potentially uncomfortable was not wrong according to Halacha. As this is a Halachic decision, and Hatzolah strictly adheres to the decisions of its Vaad HaRabbonim, the decision is not subject to the whims of the operational leadership.
So, what’s wrong with having an organization such as Ezras Nashim? On the surface it seems like a great idea, for women, by women, what could be wrong? Actually, there are many issues but we’ll start with the simple ones. Imagine a child is chas v’shalom choking. The family lives in an area that is on the fringe of Ezras Nashim’s coverage area. The mother of the choking victim grabs the phone to call for help. In her panic she cannot remember the number to call, so she runs to the refrigerator, where she remembers she put up a sticker with Hatzolah’s number. Unbeknownst to her, someone in her house had recently replaced it with an Ezras Nashim sticker picked up at a recent community event, as implausible as this may sound, their stickers look awfully similar to the ones Hatzolah has been giving out for many years, with a very similar phone number on it, and she inadvertently calls Ezras Nashim instead of Hatzolah. Instead of having some of the hundreds of Boro Park or Flatbush Hatzolah members available to respond, you now have two of the twenty or so Ezras Nashim members responding from the heart of Boro Park. Never mind that in addition to the EMTs, Hatzoloh will simultaneously dispatch Paramedics and an ambulance. If you believe that Ezras Nashim would immediately forward the call to Hatzolah or another emergency agency, per the public testimony of some of the medical staffers they are not allowed to do that. As a result, precious time would be lost. Simply understanding the geography and demographics it should be pretty apparent how this organization’s existence and practices puts the community at risk.
What about having them respond only to the more sensitive medical calls such as childbirth and such? The leadership of Ezras Nashim have publicly stated that they intend to become a full-fledged EMS agency, willing and able to handle all calls. In fact, on their website they state, “We service the full spectrum of emergency calls: The motivation behind Ezras Nashim was to respond to Emergency labor and OB/GYN emergencies; however, to serve the needs of the community, we are also responding to pediatric, adolescent and geriatric emergencies.”
OK, so nothing happens overnight, you say. Let’s give them a chance to grow their organization to match the capabilities of Hatzolah and the community’s expectations. First, explain to me the need for a parallel EMS system. Other than the issues already discussed, what will any organization offer that Hatzolah isn’t already providing? As it is, they have set the bar quite high, with statistics that are the envy of EMS systems both nationally and internationally. I say this not out of pride but rather due to actual metrics as reported to government agencies. How many lives need to be put at risk? The founders of Ezras Nashim initially simply wanted to assist other woman in their times of need. With the filing of the Certificate of Need it has become apparent to all that there are those in the organization with their own agenda, to prove that they can be as good as or better than Hatzolah? How many calls, in which seconds may matter, are they going to respond to with an inferior service, likely unbeknownst to the caller, until they can either do a comparable job, or shut down without having reached their goals?
For over 40 years Hatzolah calls have been answered by dialing 718-230-1000. The number chosen by Ezras Nashim seems calculated to look remarkably similar to this number, so much so that I did a double take the first time that I saw their advertising. Barring any other explanation, it would appear that they are intent on misleading the community to believe that they are either working within the framework of Hatzolah or that their organization’s capabilities are similar to Hatzolah when clearly this is not the case.
To be honest, if the Ezras Nashim actually stuck to their mission statement and were able accomplish what they set out to accomplish they would not be any different then any other of the multitudes of Chessed organizations that we are so thankful to have. Last I checked, Chaveriem and Shomrim didn’t sell themselves as a Hatzolah alternative. Neither did any of the multitudes of Bikkur Cholim and support groups that service our communities. Until that occurs, I can only ask that they stop bringing this chillul hashem into the public forum and stop dragging the good name of my organization through the disaster that they have created.
A Longtime Hatzolah Volunteer – NYC
The views expressed in this article are purely those of the author and are not condoned by the leadership of any organization.
NOTE: The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of YWN.
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51 Responses
Kol Hakavod for your response. It is quite sad that the Feministic mentality has integrated into the Heimish world. It’s crazy how people are actually going for this. Let’s be real about the intentions of this organization and where it’s coming from. Hatzala has always been the #1 in emergencies-lo aleinu. Why ruin something that has always been a great set-up.
1. All these fallacious arguments against Ezras Noshim could have been made against Hatazoloh 40 years ago.
2. You may not want EN. I, personally, couldn’t care less. But to say that that govt should stop them from existing just because someone might accidentally call them instead of you is idiotic. Not good for a private ambulance company to look like it’s staffed by a bunch of idiots.
From a fellow active Hatzaloh member, I thank you for the clarity to the public.
I hope the public finally understands the danger of Ezra’s Nashim.
Maybe the Rabbonim of Hatzolah can look at how United Hatzalah in Israel is able to have women volunteers?
It honestly seems like the author of this article isn’t fundamentally against Ezras Nashim. The main thrust of his article was that the reason why women were originally excluded from Hatzolah was because of the issues (naturally) of having men and women work together. Ezras Nashim solves that issue by not having men and women work together. The organization would be very happy if people who preferred Hatzolah called Hatzolah. Yet, the call volume that Ezras Nashim receives (as explicated in the public documents released on the REMSCO website) indicate that the communities (even the chassidish communities of Boro Park) really do appreciate the service Ezras Nashim offers.
We all agree that Hatzolah does offer all of the capabilities that Ezras Nashim would offer medically speaking, but they cannot claim to offer the emotional support and tzniusdik treatment that Ezras Nashim offers.
Honestly, assuming the EMTs for Ezras Nashim are well trained, I would be hard pressed to accept that the frum community wouldn’t benefit from this type of organization.
Your article although well written misses many reasons NOT to have Ezra’s nashim will post tomm
CG1994, just to add to your comment and to the writer’s message, FDNY family members as well as NYPD family members choose Hatzoloh as their preferred choice for emergency care response!
I have little doubt that there is money involved..
These are all foolish arguments trying to prevent other women helping women… frankly and simply misogynistic all because they are afraid of losing monopoly on money..
This all about the greedy lying bc of money…
Shame on u..
In addition to all the reasons given in the article perhaps another angle to consider is the basic costs of starting and running an emergency response group. Considering that these expenses are a fixed premium for all groups of this kind (for example a call center to route emergency calls and a radio system to relay calls) and the extra volunteers that would be needed to man these positions, all can be covered by the normal Hatzalah program without “wasting” personal on positions formed simply to make some oversensitive woman feel better about themselves. The difference between a unified emergency response team and a divided community of wasteful programs can mean the difference between life and death. If the Rabbanim have declared this project a “needless waste” then why must they continue? Is this another “Women of the Wall” situation?
What’s the big deal ??
Let them have there own bus, who cares?!?
Hatzolah is a great organization but the arguments thats written in the above article are garbage… – really because somebody might confuse the number…. Some people confuse it with East Midwood Volunteer Ambulance Corp, or for that matter any other emergency number.
Give me a break! It’s all about control and power!!!
Why would a consumer care to have 2 volunteer ambulance services ?
Ezras nashim, based on their application expect to have 125 billable calls next year, those are the calls that require transport. Does 125 calls prove need? How many women live in Boro Park? When our life is in danger, we need quality care, not therapists or social workers.
Ezras Nashim calls 911 when they need backup, they refuse to call Hatzala. This proves that they are here to show the world that “they” can do it. They couldn’t care less what is for the best interest of the patient.
You did a great job explaining, the Chilul Hashem that is caused by the way they addressed it in public. And I full heartedly agree with that.
However you failed to convince anyone of a valid reason why they should not be allowd to have there own org.
Are really suggesting that most people are stupid and if there would be 2 organizations they wouldn’t be able to decide on their own whom to reach out to?
And are you trying to convince us that, god forbid if Ezras Nashim would be called, they would mess up?
Seems like, with all good Intentions. There are people with big egos on both sides.
Thanks for your article. However, it left me feeling that Ezras Nashim is a good thing. Let women take care of women, especially for ob/gyn issues. In regards to phone numbers, maybe it’s time to petition for both Hatzoloh and Ezras Nashim to have 3 digit emergency numbers.
Too little too late.
How are we, the public, to know the true face of Hatzolah?
Is it the seemingly- altruistic organization portrayed by this author?
Or is it the vicious, vulgar, misogynistic, power-hungry, and primitive “good ole boyz club” as portrayed (by themselves) in the original article posted to YWN (and more so by the commentators who spoke as Hatzolah members and made the rest of us vomit)?
I suspect that Hatzolah has both types: the selfless and the selfish.
For me, even if Hatzolah has both types, this is a free country and i see no reason why it’s any of Hatzoloh’s business to interfere if ladies prefer to have other ladies (rather than their next-door neighbor) respond to them, particularly when they’re in labor.
You think those pregnant ladies are making a bad choice (or are too stupid to know the difference between whom you call for a heart attack versus whom you call when in labor), so mount an information campaign rather than act like a bunch of klansmen, both in front of the licensing agency and on YWN.
Here’s a secret. I teach adults and when one of my female students heard of Hatzolah’s campaign against Ezras Nashim, she promptly (right there in class, during our discussion) announced that she had just pledged $36 a month (via smartphone) to this organization she’d never heard of before, thanks to her disgust at the Hatzoloh campaign to stop them. Mazal Tov to Hatzolah for getting her so disgusted!
I haven’t responded for a long time, but this article got on my nerves that I needed to respond.
All this person in this article is claiming, that it doesn’t have enough members, well if you guys wouldn’t have fought it from the get-go maybe it would be almost like Hatzolah today.
Experience shows that when there is competition all parties thrive and flourish, but when there is a monopoly it could very easy be corrupt!!!!
To the letter writer: Thanks for (inadvertantly) displaying the ugly misoginy of Hatzoloh culturw and proving why Ezras Nashim is so neccesary. Hopefully one day, when the misoginy is eradicated, both EN and hatzoloh can merge. But until then, let’s thank the women of EN for standing up for women’s rights.
I don’t get it why can’t they work together And when someone calls in they can have a choice for asking for a female technician.From when the organization started till today the communities have grown tremendously And the Rabbis speak a lot about modesty. A man would not be comfortable seeing a woman doctor for specific issues I think that should be understood the other way around
CG1994: How is Ezras Nashim ruining Hatzolah?
Why does everyone care so much if this separate organization is in existence?
These aren’t for profit organizations that are taking business away from each other. This is NOT about feminism. Women grew up learning (being told) about their tznius, and modesty (how to dress, who to talk to) to save the men’s eyes…. Now all of a sudden when the women want it they are being opposed.
Longtime Hatzolah Volunteer You are an old fashioned, out of touch, sadist. Because of extremists like you, I am funding a lot of my Ma’aser money to Ezras Nashim, but NOT a penny to Hatzoloh. BTW:- I am by no measure, a modern person.
A powerful letter that underscores the idea that the most important value is the saving of lives and clarifies very well the position of Hatzolah on this issue.
Let’s be totally honest here – Hatzoloh members love the attention, flashing lights and noise that comes with the walkie talkie. That’s not a bad thing, it’s why most of them join..
Knowing that, it’s pretty simple to see that such personalities get super upset when people try to steal their thunder.
This is why Hatzoloh & MDE in Israel have had many silly spats throughout the years and this is why you won’t hear any Hatzoloh members trying to work WITH Ezras Nashim.
“First, explain to me the need for a parallel EMS system” This argument was used against Hatzalloh years ago. It was not valid then so why is it valid now?
I s till don’t understand why Hatzalah can’t have a women’s division for women’s issues. It’s not really a contradiction. If a woman is having a baby, they should dispatch a female crew. (Ezras Nashim)
There are obviously many people who prefer Ezras Nashim for obvious reasons, mainly women treating women. Many of our wives agree, although may not state it publicly, that they would rather have a woman treat them.
Why not Hatzalah have the option of women responders on request. Hatzalah being the professional organization it is, can incorporate what EN wants to bring to the community. If I dare say, maybe even work together. (Or swallow them)
There could be one number to call and when needed and/or upon request have women respond.
There are hundreds of capable woman in our community who are already in the medical field, working as PA’s, nurses and medical techs within our community. Every woman has the option upon appointment to see a woman provider why not Hatzalah emergency responders as well. It should not be about “another organization” it should be about addressing the issue. We have gmachs for everything from diapers to Misaskim. This is important as well and it can be done.
they conducted a survey of 5th graders, 95% of them said they want to be Hatzalah members when they grow up, 90% of them grow up. maybe the women want to have wigwags and LED too
In a nutshell if the only way for ezras nashim to work was to have similar number amd similiar magnets to hatzolah then it was time to back down.if the only way for ezras nashim to obtain a permit for an ambulance was to prove in a public forum that Hatzloah leaves a void in our community then it was time to back down.if their response time(8 min by their acct) takes longer for an ambulance to get from farthest point of boro park to our community hospital of maimonides than it was time to back down…
Ezras Nashim – feminists ?????? That’s a disgusting lie and shows your bias and immaturity being dan l’caf chov !!
There is a clear need for this service by many women in this community and the opposition is due to the fear of losing $$$$$$ and power – all the arguments you put forth are hogwash and a smoke screen for the real agenda.
All the bad mouthing and intimidation will not work Ezras Nashim will prevail and thrive – get over it !!!! or…I think you may find yourself loosing quite a bit of $upport from many in the community.
Regarding the logo. Just about every emergency agency in the world uses the “star of life” in some form or another. One can say Hatzoloh usurped the NYC (now FDNY) EMS logo too.
The chashash that someone might call Ezras Nashim instead of Hatzalah while it may have happened ONCE, as a reason not to allow the organization altogether is also not a logically sound argument, IMO.
Turn back the clock 40 years, many of these same arguments were made against hatzalah.
You want to argue the Rabbonim are against the organization, fine. No reason is necessary when that argument is made, other than, the rabbonim dont want it.
Why can’t Hatzaloh work with Ezras Nushim instead of against them? It’s understandable that they were told by a rav not to have woman emt’s so they don’t supply them, but Ezras Nushim does supply female emt’s. Despite the far more reasonable tone of this letter over the last, it still doesn’t explain why Hatzaloh can’t show consideration to woman in certain sensitive situations by supplying ready and willing female emt’s that are separate from Hatzahloh. This letter expressed reasonable concerns about delayed response times, this can be resolved if Hatzaloh would maturely agree to alongside them.
I’ve gone back and reviewed this thread and several of its precedents. Bottom line is that there is a hard core of those who don’t want to see women move into these areas traditionally held by men but where there are some rabbonim who have held that the male-only model is not required under Halacha. Sadly, they will have to be dragged (literally and figuratively) into a more expansive view of womens’ role in society. What I find most repugnant are those who vilify one of the most accomplished and respected women in the frum tzibur to further their own misogynistic agendas.
I find it very disturbing that EN members cannot call Hatzalah if they find themselves in a situation that they need backup. What could possibly be a valid reason for this?
” all can be covered by the normal Hatzalah program without “wasting” personal on positions formed simply to make some oversensitive woman feel better about themselves.”
This attitude really proves that Ezras Nashim is needed.
What I thoroughly do not understand is why the two organizations can’t cooperate. If Hatzola gets a call about a female in distress they can and should respond, but also call Ezras Nashim to assist.
Likewise, Ezras Nashim should call Hatzola when they get a call for quicker response when the place is more then two minutes away or as a default procedure while they also respond.
Of course Hatzolah won’t do that per their rabbonim.
I am a female and I have one question…
When an immobilized patient has to be lifted or transported down three flights of stairs, you cannot convince me that two women can effectively do it. What then?
It’s funny to me that in an age where we are constantly moving to the “right” with chumras and super strict observance in the most minor of areas, all of a sudden, having a chumrah of having women treat other women on sensitive calls is too much…and too machmir. Why is the chumrah of not printing women’s images (or even silhouettes sometimes) a valid Tznius chumrah, but not this?
Here’s the dirty little secret- When an ambulance transports someone to the hospital they bill their insurance and get anywhere from $300 to well over $1000 depending on the insurance company and the services provided during the call. Yes, Hatzola bills insurance, and i’m sure Ezras Nashim will too. Both sides are motivated by money, plain and simple.
I think the frum community should ban 911. What if someone gets confused and calls them instead of Hatzolah? Or maybe we should ban Hatzolah so people won’t accidentally call them instead of the cops in case of a robbery or assault.
These arguments are so flimsy and transparent. Your ulterior motives are showing.
Ezras Nashim is a very dangerous organization for the following reasons:
1. They are creating an organization that promotes determining care based on gender. If a woman is in labor and she skips over a male Hatzalah member who is closer to her for a female Ezras Nashim strictly because of her gender and the baby or mother ח”ו dies she is עובר על לא תעמוד על דם ריעך at best or murder at worst.
2. If a medical professional doesn’t ” use it he/she loses it”. Because Hatzalah responds and is set up for all types of calls they are more equipped and experienced in dealing with complications that are secondary to birth. Ezras Nashim has such a specialized mission that they will not be fluent in dealing with such things as cardiac arrest, hemorrhage…. It is careless to create an emergency organization that isn’t best ready for any scenario.
3. Hatzalah has saturated all their neighborhoods with responders so by definition their response time cannot be beat by any organization that is not the same size.
Finally I live in a community that a majority of the women use male doctors, I am sure that percentage wise that if true in NY. It may true that it is not optimal and possibly uncomfortable for a woman to be treated by a male professional but when someone calls for a medical emergency the gender of the response be the last thing on their mind.
I think the main point that everyone is missing here is that the burden of proof is on EN to prove that no one died or will die because they are taking calls away from Hatzala’s better system. I love me a good feminist but people shouldn’t have to pay with their lives so women can feel like they can do it too.
Now that immunization drama is over we’ve come up w a new way to separate the community. Seriously whhhhy and who caaaaaares?! If u mean it lshmah leave them alone.
Is there any reason why my posts are declined??
Biggest problem with EN is that the main idea behind the entire organization, is against our entire upbringing about what the place and job of a Yiddisher Mama really is.
Anyone who doesn’t believe this, should check out “her” movie that she made about her life story. (Very tzniusdik). And listen to say clearly “ there’s nothing a man can do that a lady can’t do”. She also says that she wishes she would have been born a man so she would’ve been able to do all the things she really wants to do without a big fight… unfortunately, this is feminism at its best. They are trying to sell their entire organization as being built to protect the tznius of lady patients, while selling off their entire tznius!!
Once again I find that many people comment their own opinions w/o doing any research. Unfortunately, this leads to unnecessary strife and hatred.
Furthermore, many people are not aware of the fact that chazal teach us that EVERY land other than Israel has a Ruach Hatumah that affects the way people think and act. It is very apparent that many people in the States are grossly influenced by the views that are breed from the Tumah that exists in America. Feminism is a goyish concept that has no place in Judaism. Anybody that feels otherwise shows their gross lack of Torah knowledge as chazal is replete with praises of the Jewish woman, her significant role in the sanity of the Jewish people, and her innate holiness. (Ex. Devorah Hanaviah, Sarah Imanu – “Shema B’kolah”… see Rashi, etc. ) If you don’t know what I am talking about, perhaps it’s time to put down the computer and hit the books.
As far as “Ezras Nashim” is concerned, I researched their website. Here are the facts:
a) The Home Page states in Big Bold letters, “Bridging the gap for women in emergency medical care”. That can be understood two ways. Either “providing women medical care in the most tzniyus form possible” or “giving frum women equal opportunity in the EMT field”. I can not determine which intention they have in mind as I do not know the people behind the organization. I would recommend them to rephrase their motto to a clearer one if they intend to point out the prior meaning.
b) They have endorsements from Gedolei Israel (specifically Rav Chaim, Rav Zilberstein, and Rav Wachfogel, shlita). Therefore, any hakpada against the organization should be address these gedolim as many people are somech on their haskamas to rely on this organization.
c) Hatzalah is nogeiya b’davar. Therefore, they need to be careful that their actions are fully L’sheim Shamiyim w/o nagias. The way to do that is to consult with Gedolim (not just Rabbis) and follow their instructions to a tee. (This may be in fact what they are doing. I do not know enough on this topic to state an opinion one way or the other.)
d) Although Ezras Nashim legally will need to be trained for any emergency situation that may come up, non-the-less, they should only advertise for OB/GYN issues and make it a point that they are specifically designed to service frum women on women issues. Hatzalah is right that they are not large enough yet to warrant placing tzinus issues before urgency. If someone is having a heart attack it is a halachic requirement to turn to the quickest responder without any regards to gender. As they grow and can match Hatzalah in respond time they can be contacted for female patients on a variety of issues if one prefers. However, if they do not emphasis they that are specifically for the medical responses of women ONLY then eventually they will only be reversing the issue instead of resolving it (I.E. making male patients uncomfortable being treated by female EMTs neighbors).
e) The best scenario would be if Ezras Nashim worked as an affiliate under Hatzalah and calls transferred for women issues when requested. However, to be honest, I feel ga’avah from both sides will prevent such an occurrence from happening. “Olam D’shakra”
Based on the above, the best way to solve this issue is to sit down together with the Gedolim and both sides stating their opinions and leaving up to the gedolim to decide what should be and what guidelines should apply.
this thread is full of misinformation, cheap anonymous pot shots ; let me add my 2 cents i am not a member
1. boropark hatzoloh DOES NOT BILL INSURANCE – ask your neighbors if they were ever asked for insurance card ( personally im not against them billing)
2. an org that has served us 24/7 literally yom kipur & tishabeav day & night for free , and we are so easy to bash , ridicule… w/o giving the benefit of the doubt. is there anybody here that hasnt heard the helpless scream ” CALL HATZOLOH” its embarrassing that they even need to make an auction to cover expenses
3. flashing lights , the glee of that lasts how long … you think at 2am jumping into sneakers & racing in the cold is because of lights????
much more to say but now to the substance;
1. every seemingly good intention needs to be weighed in the big picture as an example when the askonim wanted to open the ” pool hall on ave M the gedolim were divided you had a benefit for the at risk teens yet how would it effect the boys who still had one foot in yeshiva….would it make individual teens into a “group” here to the ramifications need to be considered , and after weighing the sides it is NO despite good intentions.
2. ob/gyn calls – what percent of calls are ob related , how many home deliveries do u think bp has in a year.. maybe 2 a month . most woman in bp use ob groups w/ mostly male docs. most members never even got called to a home birth.
3. real field experience.. on a moments notice an emergency responder needs to take charge and make decisions in tense situations this comes from a lot of field experience
4.there is an undertone by many in their group of real feminism as rav moshe zatzl writes in a teshuva regarding womans minyan groups that although the specific request was NOT ASUR the motivation behind comes from a treifa makom ayim shom
one last point; nshei cares has a successful doula program which is very much appreciated and useful they can easily have expanded that to include some of the ezras noshim emts to offer help or support for ob issues w a phone number.
as far as the other neighborhoods new square is an extremly tight community where everyone knows everything …and a ton of ob kein yirbu so there its like the doulas here ..as far as washington heights it was pikuach nefesh since there was a huge aging population with serious medical needs and very little young coverage
To all those asking why all the questions asked to en today weren’t relevant to hatzolah at its conception
It’s simple
Hatzolah was coming in to address slow response time.
It grew to what it is today
You can claim many Issues with hatzolah perhaps, but if you want to claim slow response time, you are obviously delusional
how about when a women in labor is on the heavy side and ezras nashim lady comes and tries to pick her up not succeeding in doing so wasting much critical time ?!
Ezras nashim tried to merge with hatzallah from the start, but was rejected because men and women should not work together since this can lead to tznius issues.
From the NREMT website
“75% of nationally certified EMS professionals in the United States are male”
That’s even in the rest of the US, where Females are accepted as EMT’s. Why in the rest of the US is the industry predominantly male? Fact is, there are some jobs men do better.
“Men are physically stronger than women, on average. A study in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that men had an average of 26 lbs. (12 kilograms) more skeletal muscle mass than women”
EMTs do a lot of lifting and moving during emergencies sometimes patients that are heavy and unconscious . Men are better equipped. Nothing to get offended about. If C’V something happens to my family, I know who I”m calling.
So now let me get this straight are they going to be refusing services to males? So I ask someone to call Hatzolah…. now they didn’t realise this was for abdominal pain for a male or you have some smart young teenage boy when isn’t feeling well and calls Ezras Nushim. Now they show up what are they going to do?? Leave??? Help??? Now that sounds like a plan…
i find it very disturbing that EN members call 911 for backup as apose to hatzoloh (seems like they dont care too much about saving lives…).
it’s possibly uncomftorable for women to be treated by men, but when calling for medical emergency i would want most professional and quick response regardless of EMT/doctor being male/female. i dont see why ezras nashim needs an ambulance.