On Tuesday morning, a man in his 80 suffered a cardiac arrest on Hahmei Lublin Street in Jerusalem. His worried family members called emergency services for help and United Hatzalah’s Dispatch and Command Center alerted the nearby volunteers to the incident.

Yehiel Stern and Chezi Roth, both volunteer EMTs with the organization, were first responders at the scene. The pair found the man unconscious in the restroom. They got him out to the living room and placed him gently on the floor. After checking his vital signs and finding that the man was not breathing and had no pulse they initiated CPR. They administered chest compressions, attached a defibrillator, provided assisted ventilation, and opened an intravenous line. During the process, the defibrillator advised multiple shocks which were administered.

Minutes after Yehiel and Chezi had begun the process, a paramedic and another EMT volunteer arrived together. The combined team continued performing CPR, alternating between providing chest compressions and assisted ventilation while the paramedic administered medication until the man’s pulse returned. A mobile intensive care ambulance arrived and transferred the patient, now with a viable pulse, to a near hospital for further treatment and care.

Following the incident, Chezi recounted ‘’I’ve been a volunteer with United Hatzalah since it was established. I am no stranger to providing emergency medical response and I have thankfully been involved in many successful resuscitations. I remember when I received my ambucycle from the Cohen family from Boca Raton in Florida. To this day, I am very moved by the fact that people so far away donated an ambucycle with which I can save lives every day.’’

Chezi runs a liquor store in north Jerusalem and often has to close his shop when emergencies occur in his vicinity so that he can go out and save a life. “I live and work in an area with a lot of orthodox neighborhoods and I assist with many births. I own an alcohol store and when I get a proximity alert about an emergency I leave the store immediately and put up a sign of ‘’I’m out saving lives’’. I’m very happy volunteering, and even my customers appreciate the work that I do. My volunteering as an EMT gives me great fulfillment, especially when I know I have saved a life, or brought a new life into the world. I do it with all of my heart no matter when an emergency occurs. During the workday, on holidays, on  Shabbatot, late at night, anytime I can help someone, I drop whatever I’m doing and rush to help. I think this is a truly important calling and I am blessed to be able to do it.’’

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