The Yad Sarah organization is preparing to help people cope with the snow that is predicted for Yerushalayim this Tuesday night and Wednesday.

Patients, such as those who undergo kidney dialysis or cancer treatment, who need urgent transport to hospitals or clinics can get help by calling *6444 from any phone.

Approximately 25 “Nechonit” vans and other vehicles for transporting patients in wheelchairs are prepared, and on stand-by with chains to enable them to move through snowy and icy streets.

If there is a significant amount of snow, medical equipment loan centers and emergency beeper centers will function on an emergency basis and if needed, will be boosted by additional volunteers.

Yad Sarah, the largest voluntary organization in Israel, provides a spectrum of free or nominal cost services designed to make life easier for sick, disabled and elderly people and their families.

Today, 30 years after it was founded, Yad Sarah has 103 branches throughout Israel run by more than 6,000 volunteers, and saves the Israeli economy about $320 million a year in hospitalization and medical costs.

Yad Sarah`s mission is to keep the ill and the elderly in their homes and out of institutions as long as possible.

Yad Sarah`s best-known service is the lending of medical and rehabilitative equipment on a short-term basis free of charge to anyone who needs it – from a stock of over 250,000 items, from crutches and wheelchairs to oxygen concentrators and electronic monitors.

In addition, Yad Sarah provides a wide range of other services, including transportation and day care centers for the disabled, drop-in centers and minimum-charge dental clinics for the elderly, personal computerized emergency alarms monitored 24 hours a day, and guidance/exhibition centers which help disabled people choose the assistive devices most suited to their needs.

The organization also provides equipment and services for new mothers, infants, recently discharged hospital patients and others in need, and a wide range of volunteer-run creative, recreational and rehabilitative activities for homebound people.