The following is a letter from Hatzolah of Los Angeles to the entire community:
L.A. Forbids Hatzolah Sirens and Patient Transport
The following is a letter from Hatzolah of Los Angeles to the entire community:
Hatzolah of Los Angeles has been responding to the emergency medical needs of our community since 2001. We currently respond in the Beverly/La Brea, Pico/Robertson and Valley Village areas.
Our primary goal is to bridge the time gap between an emergency incident and the arrival of the Los Angeles Fire Department. Hatzolah dispatches LA County certified EMTs, trained to respond to medical emergencies and disaster situations. In addition, during emergencies, Hatzolah assists in overcoming the language barriers and cultural needs of our community. Hatzolah has interfaced with LAFD on thousands of calls, providing patient care with compassion, while garnering the respect and support of our government agencies.
In 2006, Hatzolah became a licensed Ambulance Service Provider by the California Highway Patrol. With this license we were able to respond to emergencies with lights and sirens and substantially reduce our response time.
Recently, certain local government agencies have, contrary to their longstanding acceptance of Hatzolah as a part of the area’s emergency care system, seemingly changed their views about our role in this system. At their request, Hatzolah recently ceased responding with lights and sirens or providing ambulance transport until we can more fully explore their positions about our role in the system. We are currently working with these agencies, as well as reviewing applicable laws and regulations, with a dedicated team of professionals, community leaders and government officials to determine Hatzolah’s role and legal rights with regard to the local emergency care system.
Hatzolah remains operational, and we are providing private “first response” services to your emergency situations with qualified emergency care personnel in non-ambulance vehicles. Our dispatch lines are answered 24/7 and our responders stand ready to assist at a moment’s notice. We remain vigorously committed to the community’s emergency medical needs.
We will provide additional updates to the community as additional information becomes available. We thank you for your overwhelming support as we work through these issues, and we are working hard to resume full service in the near future.
Sincerely,
Zvika Brenner, Chairman
Hatzolah of Los Angeles
Andrea Schonberger
This is so lame. Unless I’m living in la la land aren’t ambulances supposed to use their sirens and transport the ill to hospitals?
LA city of Legal Robbers
Its always about money. Follow the Money.
The City of Los Angelez, always send a bill to your home of $600.00 – $1000.00 for the EMT service. Yes, you pay for it in taxes, but they still charge you every time.
Hatzolah, if you giove the city $500,000. for the city revenue losses, you will get the GREEN LIGHT!
Yaakov L.
Some polite phone calls and letters to local politicians are in order I think. Those of us who use Hatzolah’s services should make the people who are in charge of these decisions know how vital they are to our community (and to their votes).
a-non
Any chance that LAFD responders are unionized? Or does Hatzala not grease the appropriate skids with campaign donations?
EMT
Whoever transports the patient, is able to bill the most for it. Many EMS companies have their own territories which they are responsible for, and there are “major politics,” if another outside company which is first on scene, comes and “steals” their patient! I don’t know the situation in LA, but it would be interesting to find out.
ANON
So loss of life doesn’t matter in Los Angeles? Only the bottom line? Why am I not surprised.
Hatzolah LA Member
I’m an LA Hatzolah member and wanted to respond to some of the comments here. First of all, Hatzolah of LA does not create a danger because we aren’t ALS. We activate LAFD simultaneously for medical responses that would normally need ALS so there is no delay. We have worked hand-in-hand with LAFD for ALS for ten years and there has never been an incident where a patient was compromised due to our standing as BLS-only. Nevermind the fact that a while back there was talk about us becoming an ALS provider but the officials wouldn’t let us do it.
Regarding the leadership, I’m not sure was LA Dodger is referring to, but I doubt any internal problems (if they do exist) had anything to do with this.
Doc in Hood
Recently a few doctors had a discussion about this. It was believed hatzoloh in L.A. is a waste of time indeed and needless.
LAFD and adjoining counties have an excellent response time. If you want to keep one car available fine .. but they totally do not need the likes of NYC Hatzoloh which tends to rightfully handle/take thousands of calls (many days call volume tops 100/day),and do supplement NYFD in many facets of life here.
There is totally no need for this in Cali, and it causes lots of animosity, ill-will and other nareshkeit within – hamayvin yovin – same goes for areas like Miami.
One has to use their noodles and think eyes wide – Lakewood while within a very capable EMS system needs Hatzoloh services. Teaneck does not.