ONE MONTH SINCE OCTOBER 7th ATTACKS:
Yad Sarah Extends Urgent Humanitarian Aid to Thousands as Israel Faces Long Journey of Healing and Rehabilitation
Jerusalem, Israel – November 9, 2023 – Yad Sarah, Israel’s leading volunteer-staffed organization and largest nongovernmental social and healthcare service provider, today reported that its Emergency Relief Campaign has extended humanitarian aid to thousands of individuals in Israel since war erupted following Hamas’ October 7 massacre and has plans to continue providing aid for as long as necessary and resources allow.
In the immediate aftermath of the attacks, the organization rapidly-mobilized and has been massively expanding the activity of its over 120 branches and dozens of volunteer-led services. As the situation on the ground constantly changes, Yad Sarah continuously adapts to meet the nuanced health and social care needs of the population – for any person, of any status, whether citizen, resident, or tourist.
To date, Yad Sarah’s emergency campaign has:
- Lent 46,150 pieces of medical equipment
- Delivered & installed home hospitalization equipment for 1,082 families to expedite in-patient discharge, preventing hospital overload
- Distributed NIS 500,000 worth of medications at no cost door-to-door around the country
- Sheltered 400 evacuated seniors & persons with disabilities, along with their caregivers, at Yad Sarah’s ‘Yirmiyahu 33 Rehabilitation & Wellness Hotel’ in Jerusalem
- Recruited 300 volunteer drivers who deliver medical equipment and provide critical transport
- Provided 204 treatments to displaced and homebound persons by the Mobile Dental Clinic
- Handled 10,727 urgent calls at the Emergency Medical Hotline
- Evacuated over 100 individuals from combat zones in the North and South
- Established 3 new forward-facing branches to extend humanitarian care and supplies for embattled fronts and high displacement intake areas (Bnei Zion Hospital – Haifa, Dead Sea hotels, Bat Yam)
As Israel faces an internal displacement crisis of 200,000 people, Yad Sarah’s fully-accessible “Yirmiyahu 33 Hotel” has dedicated its facility to host evacuated seniors and individuals with disabilities along with their caregivers – dozens of whom are of foreign nationalities. Many guests, evacuated with their communities, found other evacuee intake options lacking in accessible amenities required for their day-to-day need and comfort. The hotel offers three daily meals tailored to dietary needs, personal medical equipment, life-saving medicines, and paramedical treatments. Amid the emotional challenges of displacement, the hotel offers a tranquil environment, with partial government subsidization of guest accommodation.
As the conflict continues to escalate and hospitals report 7,300 wounded and rising from the war alone, Yad Sarah remains committed to filling the gaps from the healthcare system, preventing hospital overload, and fulfilling the pledges to the populace made by the Ministry of Health.
“The need for civil initiative is more evident than ever to prevent further loss and suffering and to support what will undoubtedly be a long road to rehabilitation and recuperation,” said Moshe Cohen, CEO of Yad Sarah. “While the war may be protracted, we will utilize our broad resources for the wellbeing of nearly every family in Israel today, tomorrow and always.”
Yad Sarah’s nationwide humanitarian efforts are coordinated in collaboration with hospital administrations, the IDF, Israel Police, the Ministries of Welfare and Tourism, and population intake centers for evacuees.
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About Yad Sarah:
Yad Sarah, the leading volunteer-staffed organization in Israel, provides a vital array of compassionate health and home care services for people of all ages.
Founded in 1976, Yad Sarah has 126 branches throughout Israel staffed by more than 7,000 volunteers. Although the organization is best known for its extensive lending service for medical equipment, its volunteers also drive its wheelchair-accessible vans, reach out to the homebound, advocate for the elderly at risk for abuse, provide in-home geriatric dental care, staff its play center, and more. Nearly every family in Israel has been impacted or helped by Yad Sarah.. Yad Sarah saves Israel’s healthcare system over NIS 5.5 billion ($1.5 billion USD) each year through its home hospitalization equipment lending services.
For more information and donations: https://yadsarah.org/
