14 | JUNE 24 • 2021

OUR COMMUNITY

“H

atzalah. What’s your
emergency?”
Residents of Oak Park,
Southfield and Huntington Woods have a
trusted number to call in times of crisis —
Hatzalah of Michigan, whose volunteers read-
ily and willingly put their lives on pause to
respond to emergency calls, often leaving their
jobs, homes or child’s birthday party to provide
lifesaving care to their neighbors.
Hatzalah, which partners with the Oakland
County Medical Control Authority (OCMCA),
the Southfield Fire Department, Oak Park
Public Safety and Alliance Mobile Health, is
a team of state-certified Emergency Medical
Services (EMS) volunteer responders who
stand at the ready 24-7 to respond to local
emergencies.
The 17 volunteer Emergency Medical
Technicians (EMT) and 25 volunteer dispatch-
ers are made up of city council members, rab-
bis, teachers, fitness instructors, corporate ana-
lysts and other professionals, moms and dads
and neighbors, who drop everything to respond
quietly and without fanfare to those in need.

Hatzalah’s volunteer EMTs
can arrive to save lives
in less than 2 minutes.
Doorstep

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JACKIE HEADAPOHL DIRECTOR OF EDITORIAL

JERRY ZOLYNSKY PHOTOGRAPHY

Launched in fall 2017, Hatzalah of
Michigan (also known as Detroit Hatzalah)
is state-licensed and regulated by the
OCMCA, which oversees all EMS person-
nel in the county. Hatzalah personnel are
licensed EMS providers, who are further
advised by a panel of doctors and have
trained with fire and ambulance personnel.
Once licensed, volunteers continue their
education with monthly trainings led by
local doctors.
Hatzalah is designed to complement
the emergency response services of their
communities — not compete with them.
Because Hatzalah volunteers are embedded
within the community, they can often reach
the person who needs help in less than 2
minutes, compared to the 5-to-7-minute
response time of the local EMS. Sometimes,
those seconds can mean the difference
between life and death.

HATZALAH BACKGROUND
The first Hatzalah began in Brooklyn, N.Y.,
by Rabbi Hershel Weber in the late 1960s.
Weber was in shul when he witnessed
someone having a heart attack. It took EMS
nearly 20 minutes to arrive, and Weber
stood there and watched as the man died
because there was no one there to help him.
Weber made a promise to himself that he
would never be caught in that situation
again. He created the organization made up
of volunteer medics. His concept has since

Heroes
at Your

ON THE COVER