On Tuesday morning, two people were saved after suffering cardiac arrests thanks to the quick intervention of emergency medical personnel.
The first incident took place on Hatanya Street in Beitar Illit just before 9:00 AM, when a man in his 70s suddenly collapsed and was no longer responding to queries from his wife. The distraught woman called emergency services for help.
United Hatzalah volunteer EMT Leiby Klein was on his way to work when the proximity alert on his emergency communication device went off, directing him to the emergency nearby.
Leiby, who was already on his own motorcycle, quickly changed directions and headed for the given address. He arrived at the scene in less than three minutes and raced inside to join two other volunteers who had arrived seconds earlier. Together the trio started to administer chest compressions to the patient, attach a defibrillator and began assisted ventilation.
Over the next fifteen minutes, they administered several rounds of CPR and two shocks from the defibrillator. When the ambulance team arrived they joined in the effort to save the man’s life. The combined team was successful in bringing back the man’s pulse and breathing and stabilized the patient so he could be transported to the hospital for further care.
The second Tuesday incident occurred on Barzilai Street in Haifa, just after 9:00 AM, when a woman in her early 50s choked, and due to lack of air lost consciousness and suffered a cardiac arrest.
United Hatzalah volunteer Yosef Moore was at his workplace when the alert went off. Seeing the address pop up on his phone, he realized that it would be faster for him to run to the emergency than to take his car from the garage. He raced over by foot and arrived in 90 seconds. Even though he had no medical supplies on him, as the first responder at the scene, he initiated CPR.
Yosef initiated chest compressions and maintained the rhythm until two other volunteers from United Hatzalah arrived less than two minutes later. The combined team rotated and continued performing compressions and administered assisted ventilation. A defibrillator was attached but no shocks were advised. When the mobile intensive care ambulance arrived, the paramedic intubated the patient and continued manual breathing. They provided the patient with assisted ventilation until they managed to bring back her pulse. Approximately 15 minutes went by and the woman began to breathe on her own again. The now stable patient was taken to the hospital in Haifa for further treatment and care.
“It was an amazing feeling to arrive so quickly and be able to help save this woman’s life,” Yosef said after the incident was over. “Had I not arrived as quickly as I did, the story would have ended differently. I’m glad I was able to help. It’s incidents such as these that give me the impetus to continue volunteering.”
Leiby added, “I can’t say enough about how much this incident impacted me. I find so much gratification when I can help others. To save a life, that’s truly something special. I am very thankful that I trained to become an EMT and thankful to the organization for giving me the tools and equipment I used today to save this man’s life.”
