Last week on Wednesday, United Hatzalah volunteers EMT Yossi Blum and Paramedic Yair Bir responded to a cardiac arrest in Lod. The two volunteers performed a successful resuscitation on Roi Eliyahu, 34, who collapsed in his home. 

 

 

Yossi who was one of the first responders at the scene and initiated treatment on the patient said, “When I arrived at the scene, Roi was lying on the floor in a state of unconsciousness with no pulse or breathing. His family had started to perform CPR on him before I arrived and once I got there, I immediately took over. Together with Paramedic Yair Bir, who arrived shortly after me, we connected a defibrillator, performed compressions, and administered medication in an effort to revive Roi. After receiving an electric shock, Roi’s heart started beating and he was able to breathe independently. Once he was stable enough, he was taken to the hospital for further medical treatment.”

 

Today (Tuesday) a week after the incident, the volunteers, EMT Yossi Blum and Paramedic Yair Bir, met with Roi Eliyahu at Assaf Harofeh Hospital to see how he was recovering and relay the story of what happened. 

 

“Roi was very happy that they came to visit him in the hospital and could not thank us enough,” Yossi added. “We were overjoyed that we were able to help save his life and we showed him the defibrillator that we used which revived him and explained how it is operated. It was a truly special moment and one that doesn’t come so often.”

 

President and Founder of United Hatzalah Eli Beer spoke about the incident and said, “I hear about stories like this from time to time and I am so proud of the volunteers who give of themselves and their time to save the lives of others. These instances prove the importance of each and every one of our volunteers having a defibrillator among the emergency medical equipment they receive. We aren’t quite there yet, but we hope to be one day soon. Right now, more than half of our 6,000 volunteers have a defibrillator with them at all times. This has resulted in many lives being saved, lives like Roi. Hopefully, Roi will soon go back to his family after making a full recovery and I hope that they will enjoy many more years together.”

 

To support the lifesaving work of United Hatzalah volunteers like Yossi and Yair, please click here: