8 Responses

1. It is “Rhawnhurst” and the zip codes are 19111 and 19152. I live in Rhawnhurst and have not seen any information that Hatzalah is available in this area.

2. How many frum families are there in Northeast?

3. There should be a Hatzolah in the area of Livingston/West Orange/South Orange/Vauxhall/Millburn/Maplewood.

4. #1,
   I’m on the Politz email list, and on Sept. 12 an email was sent out stating the following (I’m cutting & pasting):

   “IN CASE OF EMERGENCY!
   THE COMMUNITY NOW HAS HATZOLAH SERVICING THE 19111, 19115
   AND 19116 ZIP CODES!
   CALL 215-914-1600
   POST THIS NUMBER NEAR A PHONE IN YOUR HOME!”

   I hadn’t heard anything about this previously myself and was amazed, but when I asked my husband about it he said he’d heard Isaacson’s shul was working on starting a Hatzolah….so it looks like it came to fruition. Baruch Hashem!

5. Fact check
   1 – it is not affiliated in any way with the central office or any other legitimate hatzolah
   2 – the affiliation is with patriot (a for profit private ambulance company) is much stronger than the article leads ppl to believe. The dispatch station is in their offices and their ambulanes are dispatched on every call (and they do charge for that). Only when patriot is “too busy” do they dispatch a 911 city ambulance (which is also not free.
   3 – the response time off 911 has proven to be faster than patriot or “hatzolah” on more than half the calls as of yet
   4 – there is speculation that the isaacson shul is getting a kickback from patriot from every billable call they get from the hatzolah phone number
   5 – the training class was conducted and given by one of tthe owners/administrators of patriot
   6 – 2 weeks before the conclusion of the course, the trainees were informed suddenly Þhat they would each have to pay or raise 2500 dollars. For the shul to cover costs of equipment before they would be permitted to take the state exam.

   You do the math and ask yourself if this is being run properly, openly, honestly, and with the same commitement and selfless nature that the real branches of hatzolah are known for.

6. 3,

   PAY FOR IT!!!!

7. The beauty of Freedom of Speech is that anybody can express their opinions. You just have to ask yourself: ”
   Why are they doing it?” Maybe, they are concerned. Maybe, they were given incorrect information to-begin-with. Maybe, they were not allowed “in the click.” Regardless of the reason, Philly Yid posted his opinion on the web. Unfortunately, the “fact check” has information that is far from real facts. And that is highly upsetting to the members and to others who wish to see the program succeed. So following is the reply to the “fact check:”
   1 – I can not speak of the level of affiliation with other branches of Hatzolah. I am a responder, and this question is beyond my rank.
   2 – The affiliation with Patriot Ambulance is undeniable. One of the owners, Adi Kronfeld, has committed resources to help Hatzolah of Philadelphia with their first “baby” steps. All initial training and logistical support was sponsored by Patriot Ambulance. Initial class costed Patriot over $6500 in payroll hours. Radio frequency was provided for responders. Patriot Ambulance sponsored 3 channels. Radio equipment was generously donated by other individuals. Some of the equipment for the responders was also supplied by Patriot, while majority of the equipment was donated by various individuals.
   2a – The call-taking is being done from various locations (member-dispatchers homes, offices, etc.). There is a patch to Hatzolah hotline into Patriot’s office. This way, if we ever were short-handed with dispatchers (please remember – this is a starting phase), Patriot’s multi-lingual dispatchers can assist in call-taking.
   2b – Can Hatzolah of Philadelphia survive without Patriot’s assistance? ABSOLUTELY. Should they? That’s the answer that Community-at-large has to decide on. Patriot is continuously providing vital logistical/technical support. It allows us to concentrate the donations towards purchasing equipment & supplies. This month we received a donation for our first AED.
   2c – is Patriot responding to assist Hatzolah? Adi Kronfeld committed one vehicle as a Local Response Unit. If it is not available, or if the ETA is unacceptable, 911 is being dispatched. Do they bill for services? Yes: per Medicare rules, not billing is a form of a kick-back. Do they collect? Hardship letters, emergency medicaid, and other services are available to those without adequate medical insurance.
   3 – Response times: this is not a competition. Hatzolah is designed to enhance emergency response (and not to undermine as it is described in comments from Philly Yid). We met with Director of EMS of Pennsylvania and with Chief of EMS of Philadelphia prior to starting program. And it was naturally agreed that patient care comes first. Average response times of Philadelphia 911 responders (fire-fighters) are right around 5 minutes. Response times of Medic units vary. Average recommended National response times for transport units are 8 minutes 59 seconds. The goal of any Hatzolah organization is to shorten the response times. At this time, Hatzolah of Philadelphia doesn’t have any stats.
   4 – Speculations are not facts. It is very damaging for the morale of the Public and responders to even speculate that “kick backs” are what drives the organization. I can only speculate on the reasons for such distasteful comments.
   5 – The class was conducted by:
   • Roman Kourinnoi, NREMT-P, EMS-I, AHA Instructor, VFIS Instructor
   • Alex Dovgoruky, NREMT-P, AHA Instructor
   • Wayne Zimecki, EMS-I, AHA Instructor
   • Adi Kronfeld, ASHI Instructor, VFIS Instructor
   • Mark Khavinson, EMS-I Candidate, Adjunct Instructor
   • Mike Green, AHA Instructor
   • Other instructors, EMT’s and Paramedics who helped with class, posed as bystanders or victims during training sessions.
   6 – Two individuals were not allowed to participate in State Examination process. One – missed vital training time due to family reasons. Second – missed 35% of training time due to other reasons. Pep talks and calls for fund raising had no effect on the quality or outcome of training.
   I understand that it will take a while to gain the trust of the Community. So whoever you are, please don’t speculate or second guess the Program. Email us, call us, come and see, and ask questions (no ride-along due to Patient Confidentiality Laws), join us and help us build Hatzolah of Philadelphia the right way.
   On Sunday, October 10, we are hosting CPR class for the Community. Details & location will be posted on our web site.

8. It is truly a shame that after such an auspicious day as Yom Kippur in which we as a people collectively put ourselves before G-d, the Judge of all Judges, and apologize and repent for the wrongdoings of the past year that such a shameful and demeaning statement would be released.
   In response to Philly Yid’s extreme allegations I would like to say the following:
   1) Unless you yourself have been on the calls you should not be making statements about the speed of the calls and their response times compared to that of 911 as A-1 stated there are no stats that have been released about this.
   2) Publicly shaming a family name that has ultimately tried to do nothing other than bring good and enhance the lives of both the frum and non-frum in the greater Northeast Philadelphia community is disgusting. Personal issues aside any person can see the desire to do good and to help cultivate a thriving growing community creating a Hatzalah is one of those steps.
   3) Donations and fund-raising are crucial to the success of any organization and any hatzalah around the world has gone out on such endeavors to help ensure that they work functioning with the highest level of optimality. No such 2500 criteria was imposed and these are baseless rumors seemingly created as an attempt to just damage these individuals reputation.
   4) I truly hope that you think long and hard about your actions and do the necessary teshuva because the people and organizations you mentioned have done nothing to deserve such slanderous lies spread about their genuine efforts for good and chesed.
   5) Philadelphia Hatzalah should have much hatzlacha in growing and achieving its goals and should continue to help in the same fashion that has up until now.