Chevra Hatzolah (Hatzolah means "RESCUE" in hebrew), was founded in the 1960's in Williamsburg, New York, by a small group of dedicated individuals who saw the need for a faster response time to victims of medical emergencies. These people started out rushing tanks of oxygen to victims of heart attacks and strokes in their neighborhood, instead of waiting for a city ambulance. At that time, and somewhat still today although much improved, a long delay for a city ambulance to respond was a commong occurance. By rushing the oxygen to the patient's side, and begining basic life support measures, they exponentially improved the patient's chances of survival.

Hatzolah's rapid response time, and excellent emergency medical training is the main reason for our continued success. Our volunteers are dispatched primarily by two-radios, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year including all holidays and weather conditions. That means in an emergency, when every second counts, emergency care will get to you quickly and efficiently.

From this small start, today, Chevra Hatzolah is the largest all-volunteer ambulance corp in the world, with branches from New York to California, South Africa to Switzerland, England to Australia and many other places in between.

Hatzolah in New York alone has more than 1,000, highly trained EMT's, Paramedics, Physician Assistants and Doctors as volunteer members, and answers tens of thousands of calls per year. They use their own private, fully equipped vehicles, along with a fleet of more than 70 ambulances.

Hatzolah members were among the first to respond to the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centers, heroically risking their lives to treat and transport the injured victims, alongside the many other brave NYFD, NYPD and other volunteer rescuers. Wih their selfless dedication, training and compassion for the victims, they earned a great deal of respect from their peers in the emergency service community.

Each of our volunteers, lives and works in the communities we serve. We are completely not for profit, and our members give up their own valuable personal time from work, families and commitments to help those in need, regardless of race or religion.