United Rescue Jersey City will hold a graduation ceremony for the 50-plus participants of the nation’s first community-based emergency medical response program on Thursday November 12, at 5:30PM at City Hall (280 Grove Street), with a reception to follow at HopsScotch (located at 286 Washington Street).
The graduation comes less than a year after the announcement of the city’s partnership with United Rescue, a volunteer pre-ambulance emergency care service enabled by GPS technology and modeled after United Hatzalah in Israel.
The volunteers, better known as Community Based Emergency Caregivers (CBECs), have been certified and equipped through a partnership with Jersey City Medical Center (JCMC) to respond to 911 medical calls in the moments that separate life from death. As part of the program, each volunteer is linked to a dispatch system using a GPS-based mobile app called NowForce.
When an emergency call is received, CBECs are dispatched through the app and arrive either by foot, bicycle, e-bike or a medically equipped motorcycle within three minutes to begin treatment prior to ambulance arrival.
As a result of the partnership with United Rescue and JCMC, Jersey City residents can receive lifesaving treatment in less than three minutes — particularly important following cardiac arrest and stroke.
“We are excited to be the first city in the United States to launch such an innovative, life-saving program,” says Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, who will host the ceremony. “When every second matters, we want to deliver the fastest, best medical service to our residents. This program leverages people who are there and recognizes that people are inherently good and want to help.” Graduating volunteer Ivelisse Cruz agrees:
“United Rescue has taught me that I can make a difference. I am so grateful for our instructors and the life-saving training I received. We are all so proud to be part of this program and we are looking forward to helping our fellow Jersey City neighbors and local EMS!”
The graduation ceremony speakers will also feature Mark Gerson, Eli Beer and Dov Maise of United Hatzalah; Paul Sosman of United Rescue Jersey City; and Robert Luckritz, Director of EMS, Jersey City Medical Center.
For more information on United Rescue, Jersey City, and its lifesaving program, visit the official website at http://unitedrescue.us.