What It’s Like Being An Emergency Medical Volunteer During COVID-19

As an operations supervisor at Hatzolah Los Angeles, Ari Friedman has seen the devastating impact of the coronavirus in the Jewish community. The Valley Village resident and certified EMT has been responding to medical calls from those suffering from COVID-19.

A personal injury lawyer by profession, Friedman, 37, told the Journal, “It’s a privilege to help people in a time of need. You make a difference in one person’s life and it saves the world.”

“It’s a privilege to help people in a time of need. You make a difference in one person’s life and it saves the world.” — Ari Friedman

Hatzolah, a volunteer emergency medical service, cannot physically transport patients to hospitals. The organization must defer to the Los Angeles Fire Department for transportation, but Friedman and other Hatzolah volunteers have been checking the vitals and providing oxygen to patients who have had difficulty breathing. When responding to an in-person COVID-19 call, the goal is to “take away the imminent emergency,” Friedman said.

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, Friedman estimated that Hatzolah has responded in-person to approximately 150 calls and has had more than three times that many over the phone. The group’s busiest time was after Purim, he said, when Hatzolah’s 60 responders took up to 10 coronavirus calls each week.

Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Friedman has been delivering telemedicine. Hatzolah does not offer telemedicine.