Overview from Yad Sarah CEO, Moshe Cohen:
“As tensions in Northern Israel escalate, Yad Sarah has been tirelessly enhancing its emergency wartime preparedness. We are regularly replenishing our inventory of vital medical & rehabilitation equipment and reinforcing our 7,000-strong volunteer force to sustain life-ensuring health and home care services, even in the event of a full-scale war with Hezbollah.”
Yad Sarah’s recent key activity in light of Northern escalations includes:
- Oxygen Refilling Centers: Yad Sarah is establishing centers in major population areas to provide oxygen cylinder refills, supported by backup generators to ensure supply in case of blackouts. The first site in Jerusalem recently opened, and another at Yad Sarah’s Haifa branch is set to begin operations in the coming weeks. Additional oxygen refilling centers are planned for Rishon LeZion and Beersheba.
- Logistics and Supplies: Yad Sarah’s logistics unit is taking measures to equip our 25+ regional branches in the North with a surplus inventory of medical & home hospitalization equipment, medications, and other essentials.
- Emergency Call Center: We have added personnel to our northern district Emergency Call Center. The team has conducted thousands of proactive calls to residents, including evacuees, informing them of our support services in case of an emergency.
- Reinforcement Branches: Initially established as wartime-reinforcement branches, our two newest sites in the North–located in Majdal Shams on the border with Lebanon and Bnai Zion Medical Center in Haifa–have expanded operations to meet growing demand for our services.
- Branching Out: We are coordinating with local authorities in the Galilee region where our presence is limited, to quickly establish new Yad Sarah branches that will aid local residents as part of precautions for a full-fledged war with Hezbollah.
- Precautions for Blackouts: Yad Sarah has purchased over 1,000 generators and battery-powered oxygen concentrators for lending as a precaution for potential widespread blackouts.
- Accessible Transportation: Our fleet of 14 wheelchair-accessible vans is ready to evacuate and transport wheelchair users from danger zones if necessary.
- Special Rehabilitation Equipment: We have procured thousands of units of specialized equipment, including Continuous Passive Motion (CPM) machines and portable oxygen concentrators, to support the at-home recovery of Israel’s war wounded, easing the stress on hospitals.