As the exodus of Orthodox Jewish families from the New York area’s more established Jewish communities continues, branches of Hatzolah have been opening up in new areas, with the eastern portion of Bergen County one of the latest communities to get its own volunteer ambulance corps.

Bergen Hatzalah became operational at midnight on September 3^rd, launching alongside Hatzalah of West Orange and Livingston in nearby Essex County.  Its core coverage area includes Englewood, Englewood Cliffs, Fort Lee, Hackensack and Tenafly, with approximately 32 volunteers going out on calls.

Coordinator Josh Hartman moved to Englewood in 1999 but has remained an active volunteer of West Side Hatzoloh, going on calls when he is in the city.  He said that people have been asking him for years why there was no Hatzalah operating locally in his hometown.

“My response has always been that we have been part of the 911 system and the response time and the care have both been good, so let’s not try to fix something that isn’t broken,” Hartman told Yeshiva World News.

But the situation has evolved over the past three years. The local volunteer ambulance corps dialed its coverage back to 12 hours per day from 24, with the local hospital stepping in to fill the gap. The onset of COVID further exacerbated the problem, creating a real need for a local Hatzolah chapter.

“There is something about a neighborhood volunteer group that people like and, over the past few years, towns like Englewood, Fort Lee and Tenafly have had a huge influx of people moving in from Hatzolah-covered areas,” noted Hartman.  “With less volunteer service and the demand going up, my ears perked up and I realized that this was something that might actually be worth doing.”

Bergen Hatzalah was officially incorporated on December 31^st 2020, with the early part of 2021 devoted to working through a budget and equipment needs, with fundraising starting in earnest after Pesach.  The decentralized Hatzolah model of having volunteers responding from wherever they happen to be when a call comes in translates into faster response times than municipal models which have members going out on calls from a dedicated ambulance building.

“We have people in the community who have medication and defibrillators and first aid equipment, which means we can stabilize a patient within three to four minutes because we are in shul or in ShopRite or wherever,” said Hartman.  “That is a key differentiating factor that distinguishes Hatzolah.”

Bergen Hatzalah’s dispatch is currently handled by Chevra Hatzolah in Brooklyn with two units dispatched directly to the scene for every emergency, while a third member is tasked with calling the town to send an ambulance and any necessary resources. Hartman looks forward to the day when Bergen Hatzalah will have its own ambulance and notes that the corps works seamlessly with local municipalities and that all of its volunteers are trained to provide high level emergency care, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Bergen Hatzalah’s emergency number is 201-367-2222 or 212-230-1000.  For more information, visit them online at www.bergenhatzalah.org or email them at [email protected].

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)