Israeli organization building emergency medical equipment amid war escalations

Yad Sarah, Israel’s leading voluntary healthcare and social-services organization, on Sunday said it will establish an emergency respiratory system to help anyone who needs oxygen treatments at home if an escalation in hostilities triggers the collapse of the electricity grid.

The Energy Ministry had requested the precautionary measures.

The initiative will provide initial life-saving help to provide ongoing oxygen support. In the event of widespread power failures that could last hours or days, traditional oxygen concentrators that require a connection to electrical outlets would not function, putting the lives of those with breathing problems at risk.

In response, Yad Sarah has formulated a systemic solution for the thousands of Israelis who need at-home oxygen treatments. The initiative is underpinned by a comprehensive logistics framework designed to make the lives of those in need of respiratory support easier.

Yad Sarah facilities around the country are preparing to serve as “oxygen stations” that would host and quickly loan critical respiratory equipment in real time to those who require ongoing at-home and outpatient treatment. Its branches and hospitality units across the country are bolstering emergency inventories of portable oxygen concentrators and an extensive amount of oxygen cylinders that do not need to be connected to electricity.

In addition, Yad Sarah is appealing to those with surplus oxygen concentrators to donate them to one of the 126 Yad Sarah branches to bolster the emergency precautionary measures.

“For nearly 50 years, Yad Sarah has championed and continues to advance the notion of at-home hospitalization for optimal recovery, mainly through the provision of advanced equipment and customized medical technologies,” said Yad Sarah founder and president, Rabbi Uri Lupolianski, who has taken it upon himself to personally lead the emergency initiative. “Thousands of people with difficulty breathing already receive respiratory support from Yad Sarah’s oxygen system and supplementary equipment. We are steadfast in our commitment to helping them, acting in every way possible to protect their lives in the face of any scenario and even in the event of an emergency.”

Yad Sarah’s hotline is already working to match individuals with respiratory problems to “host” households in their immediate area where an oxygen generator is operating, including concentrators for keeping Shabbat without needing electricity.

The organization has already boosted its activities during wartime

Having boosted its activity amid wartime, the nongovernmental organization with its 7,000 volunteers has distributed a full year’s worth of medical equipment loans within three months, leading to a depletion of its emergency inventory. In response, the organization has swiftly taken action to procure and airlift critical items, including portable oxygen concentrators.

With Jerusalem identified as the city with the largest demand for oxygen concentrators, Yad Sarah’s “Yirmiyahu33” wellness hotel will operate as a central oxygen station, with the organization’s nearby headquarters and adjoining hospitality units prepared to convert their facilities as needed.

In addition to Jerusalem, Yad Sarah is establishing oxygen stations in Beersheba, Rishon Lezion, Ra’anana, Haifa, and Netanya through close coordination with government ministries, health funds, local authorities, and community organizations.

The Yad Sarah Hotline at *6444 provides information and registration as an oxygen host or beneficiary.

Founded in 1976 with its extensive lending service for medical equipment, Yad Sarah’s 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 Israeli family has been impacted or assisted by the organization, which saves Israel’s healthcare system more than NIS 5.5 million each year through its home hospitalization equipment lending services.