United Hatzalah

United Hatzalah of Israel

Formation	2006
Type	free, volunteer-based emergency medical services
Legal status	Non-governmental organization, Non-profit organization
Focus	Humanitarian
Headquarters	Jerusalem
Area served	Israel, Worldwide
Official language	Hebrew
President/Founder	Eli Beer
Budget	US$20 million (2018)
Volunteers	7000
Website	1221.org.il
Remarks	Awarded 2011 Israeli Presidential Award for Volunteerism

United Hatzalah ("united rescue" in Hebrew: איחוד הצלה) is an Israeli volunteer-based emergency medical services (EMS) organization providing free service throughout Israel, with its headquarters based in Jerusalem. Its mission is to provide immediate medical intervention during the critical window between the onset of an emergency and the arrival of traditional ambulance assistance. It is one of many Hatzalah organizations in various parts of the world and the only one that includes women and non-Jewish volunteers.

United Hatzalah of Israel was founded in 2006 with the merger of several small local hatzalah organizations. It has grown to become the largest independent, non-profit, fully volunteer EMS organization in the world, with over 6,500 volunteer medical first responders nationwide, and additional chapters in Panama,^[1] the United States,^[2] and Ukraine.^[3] The organization provides free services to all citizens regardless of race, religion, or national origin. With the help of its Uber-like GPS dispatch system and a fleet of rapid response ambucycles,^[4] United Hatzalah has achieved an average response time of less than 3 minutes nationwide and 90 seconds in metropolitan areas.

United Hatzalah's national command center in Jerusalem uses an advanced GPS-based dispatch technology to identify the closest and most qualified volunteers and routes them to the scene of an emergency through a mobile device application. Approximately 1,000 volunteers are outfitted with medically equipped motorcycles, “ambucycles” capable of navigating around traffic jams to reach victims in as few as 90 seconds.^[5] The remaining volunteers respond to emergencies using their own private cars, or organizational emergency e-bikes,^[6] ambuboats,^[7] or ATVs,^[8] depending upon the location of the emergency. The organization is funded exclusively through private charitable support.

Within Israel, individuals may contact United Hatzalah through its direct number, 1221; however, some dispatch information is received directly from national ambulance services. United Hatzalah in turn alerts and coordinates with local ambulances, Search and Rescue (SAR), fire,^[9] and police services,^[10] and the IDF,^[11] when necessary.