Starting Sunday, September 7th, Lakewood First Aid volunteers will cover the full Lakewood EMS Sunday shift each week, from 6:00 am through 6:00 pm.
Lakewood Township has for decades had a unique career/volunteer EMS partnership: Lakewood EMS has a staff of paid EMTs who are stationed at EMS headquarters on Pine Street around the clock. Lakewood First Aid has dozens of volunteer EMTs that respond to emergencies on a per-need basis, supplementing EMS resources when necessary.
Now, Lakewood First Aid has established a new “Associate Volunteer” program, in which a group of its EMTs will be stationed at EMS headquarters for the Sunday day shift, in place of the EMS staff rotation – still on an unpaid, volunteer basis. This will allow EMS staff to spend quality time with family and friends on Sundays, while saving Lakewood taxpayers a substantial amount in overtime payroll expenditures each year.
“By providing Lakewood First Aid the opportunity to serve as a primary EMS provider each Sunday, we are fostering growth and hands-on experience for their volunteers while strengthening Lakewood EMS at the same time,” says Lakewood EMS Chief Crystal Van de Zilver. “For nearly a half-century, our organizations have stood side by side in service to our community, and this initiative builds on that legacy of partnership and shared commitment.”
“Volunteerism in America is widely seen as a dying concept, but Lakewood stands tall as a proud exception,” says Lakewood First Aid Captain Yiddy Karmel. “We have a continuously growing roster of dedicated volunteers, who are not only happy to serve; they are stepping up to undertake full committed shifts each weekend.”
“Once again, Lakewood residents will benefit from our high caliber governmental and volunteer/nonprofit personnel, and their unique level of collaboration on behalf of the common good,” says Township Committeeman and Emergency Services Liaison Meir Lichtenstein. “Lakewood Township thanks our EMS and First Aid departments for their service and, as always, is here to provide them with all the support and resources they need.”
A guy told me his wife was about to give birth not feeling comfortble having 3 hatzolah guys over her, he called Lkwd First Aid he told me it was the biggest mistake instaed of having 3 yungerliet she had 3 Bochrim
LOL
Yeah, but when a group of women tried to start a EMS group in Brooklyn everyone screamed. What do you want?
How come no Hatzolah, whether Lakewood, or NYC, ever made a completely separate unit with just ladies, and only for birth emergencies? With no mixing at all and a slightly different unit number (like say L-608, so like, any unit number above 600 is a lady unit) so dispatch won’t make a mistake to dispatch a woman to a regular call with male Hatzolah members.
Or was the problem not only mixing but of radio being lo silbash like a gun?
Please comment if you’ve heard one way or other, and hoping for knowledgeable answers.