'Ambucycle' From Marlboro Will Help United Hatzalah Of Israel

MARLBORO, NJ — A compact motorcycle does a big job for emergency personnel of the United Hatzalah of Israel. And a local Marlboro school and local graduate will help the cause with a donation of an ambucycle for the emergency responders.

The Hebrew Academy of Marlboro will host a special ceremony later this month to dedicate a life-saving emergency vehicle on behalf of the community.

The vehicle, an ambucycle (motorcycle-ambulance), is the organization’s flagship vehicle that is used by emergency medical service first responders in Israel. It enables responders to arrive at the scenes of medical emergencies quickly and safely, it says.

And a team from the organization is currently using ambucycles and other equipment to help out in Turkey, following a catastrophic earthquake there.

Ambucycles are not held up by traffic jams or narrow streets, unlike cars and ambulances. They are equipped with an attached first-aid case that is designed to hold all the necessary medical equipment.

The donation is being led by the Reich family. Dan Reich, a representative of the family, is himself a first responder and knows the value of a quick response to medical emergencies first hand, he said in a news release about the donation.

"I've been volunteering as a first responder for 20 years. I know the impact it's had on my life and those I've been able to help. Hopefully, this donation will help inspire even just a few people to live a life in service and adventure, while ensuring those already in service are helping to save more lives," he said in a news release about the donation.

According to United Hatzalah of Israel, a typical ambucycle costs $36,000. United Hatzalah currently operates around 1,000 of them, invaluable in maneuvering around crowded cities.

Right now, amid the tragedy in Turkey, there are 25 volunteers from the organization serving there.

"There are doctors, medics, search and rescue specialists as well as psychotrauma specialists," says spokesperson Jeremy Cole of Friends of United Hatzalah.

The volunteers are in Gaziantep, helping treat people trapped in buildings and providing medical and psychotrauma care to the afflicted victims.

United Hatzalah chartered a flight to the stricken area.

“As soon as we heard about the scale of the tragedy unfolding in Turkey, it was clear to us that we would send a team there in order to contribute to the relief effort,” said Dov Maisel, vice president of operations for United Hatzalah.

The Marlboro donation will take place in a dedication Feb. 28.

Yoti Golan, who is the head of The Hebrew Academy, spoke about Reich, an alumnus of the school, and his praised his family’s donation.

“Dan Reich is an alumnus of The Hebrew Academy class of 1998. He graduated knowing that the benefits of a Jewish Day School education would continue to influence and guide his future. Each class graduates with a solid foundation of religious and general knowledge as well as an understanding of Jewish values," he said in the news release.

"Dan is an extraordinary example of one of the school's guiding principles: 'Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6).'"

He added that the school is "not only beyond proud of Dan’s business successes, but his unwavering support of Jewish causes, including Friends of United Hatzalah."

A special ceremony to dedicate the ambucycle will be Tuesday, Feb. 28, at the Hebrew Academy of Marlboro.

During the dedication ceremony, students from the school will hold a special presentation, to be followed by a short talk about the organization’s activities by Gavy Friedson, the organization’s Director of International Emergency Management and Global Ambassador.

Friedson was recently one of the EMTs who accompanied a special rescue mission to Bucharest, Romania to rescue six critically ill Jewish refugees who had fled the conflict in Ukraine and brought them to Israel to receive emergency medical care at an Israeli hospital.

The rescue flight was one of many that was arranged by United Hatzalah as part of the organization’s Operation Orange Wings, which brought nearly 3,000 Ukrainian refugees to Israel.

The Hebrew Academy is at 22 School Road East, Marlboro.

For more information or to get involved, contact Mara Soverinsky, at maras@israelrescue.org.

United Hatzalah is Israel's largest independent, nonprofit, nationally recognized, and fully-volunteer emergency medical service organization. Last year, its 6,500 fully equipped volunteers treated more than 700,000 adults and children, providing all lifesaving services absolutely free of charge.