Hatzolah crosses borders

GILLIAN KLAWANSKY

It all started a year ago at a Hatzolah SA board meeting. Legal director David Shapiro said: “There are Hatzolahs serving Jewish communities all over the world; we’re all loosely affiliated but there’s no real co-ordination. It would be great to get together and talk about the things we have in common.”

Ideas snowballed from there and the International Hatzolah Convention was born. “We identified five areas of focus and we said let’s do it, let’s host an international convention right here,” recalls Darren Sevitz, executive general manager of Hatzolah SA. “It’s probably the best thing we’ve ever done – it was absolutely amazing.”

During the convention, 50 international Hatzolah delegates, representing 20 different Hatzolahs in eight countries, came together in South Africa. Aside from South Africa, countries represented included the US, Canada, the UK, Chile, Belgium, Australia and Israel.

Delegates stayed in a five-star hotel in Senderwood and sessions were held throughout the week at the Hatzolah base in Raedene. Aside from the 50 overseas delegates, numerous South African responders and dispatchers attended the weekday sessions.

The convention culminated in a special Shabbos weekend hosted at the Kwa Maritane Bush Lodge in the Pilanesberg and attended by some 70 local and international delegates, including Hatzolah’s Rabbi Yechezkel Auerbach, Rabbi Dr Akiva Tatz and Pretoria-based Rabbi Gidon Fox.

The five areas covered throughout the convention were:

1.   Medical: Comparing medical protocols and policies

2.   Operations and equipment used: How different Hatzolahs operate, what equipment they use, etc.

3.   Response and preparedness for mass casualty incidents: In situations of terrorism, etc.

4.   Networking: While acknowledging their independence, it was important for groups to get to know each other and create affiliations and relationships.

5.   Halacha: Covered on the shabbos weekend away, this specifically addressed Hatzolah’s approach to Shabbos – the halachic approach to issues that arise from responding on Shabbos – what you can and can’t do, and so on.

“In the beginning, we had two days of intense programming,” explains Sevitz. “We had talks from top medical professionals and paramedics in the country, as well as from some international delegates. We also had a number of practical stations for people to practise various skills and procedures and test out equipment.

“There was also a lot of scheduled informal time, where we’d get together in small breakaway tables and just talk about how we all do things – there was a lot of learning and exchanging of ideas.

“We’ve already had requests from other Hatzolahs to share our marketing material with them; we’re happy to share resources, it’s not about money, it’s about saving lives.”

In between the formalities, Hatzolah SA showed their guests five-star South African hospitality. They had gourmet meals, went on a game drive in the Pilanesberg and celebrated a very special Shabbos together in the bush.

 “They were literally blown away – we put Hatzolah SA on the worldwide map,” says Sevitz. “We’re going to change the world of Hatzolah; this wasn’t just about coming together for talks – it changed the way Hatzolahs are going to operate worldwide.”

At the Shabbos lunch held at Kwa Maritane, a delegate from New York stood up and spoke about how the convention had humbled him and his team. “We’re from New York and we invented Hatzolah – we thought we were going to come and teach you something and yet we’ve learnt from you,” he said.

Sevitz also felt particularly proud during a presentation by Hatzolah SA Chairman Lance Abramson. Abramson laid out all the additional projects Hatzolah does in South Africa, aside from providing ambulance services.

“He discussed how we take care of the community through education, AED (defibrillator) boxes in shuls, CPR centres, Hugo’s Heroes and more,” says Sevitz. “To see what we do coming together in one presentation, blew us all away, even internally, because we just realised how phenomenal Hatzolah SA is and how phenomenal the community has been to us to allow us to do this.”

What also struck Sevitz, was that while the delegates were often very different externally – in terms of their Jewish backgrounds and the way they dressed and davened – they all had a common purpose.

“I realised that these are all just externalities, we’re all the same, we’re all in the business of saving Jewish lives. I made good friends with guys I generally wouldn’t give the time of day to. It was an eye opener to stop being superficial and look at what’s inside a person.”

All delegates covered their own airfares and also had to pay a fee to attend. Funding and donations covered the shortfall, explains Sevitz. He’d love the convention to become a regular event happening every two to three years.

“Maybe we started something that will move around the globe, where different Hatzolahs can do something, or maybe we can host it here again. Things change quickly in the medical space and it’s also important to maintain these relationships. It’s vital that this continues – there’s so much momentum that we have to work with now.”