Noa Berger
IsraelSeen Exclusive – Meeting Scenes of Chaos With Clarity
Noa Berger lives in a small Moshav called Beit Arif near Shoham. She loves singing, running in marathons and helping others, that is why she volunteers with United Hatzalah. She completed her training a year and a half ago and immediately began saving lives. Berger, responds to emergencies that take place in her vicinity, but also spends a lot of time in Tel Aviv in order to help with the overworked emergency responders in Tel Aviv.
One day at around 1:30 pm, Noa received an alert to an unconscious person in Tel Aviv.. Dropping everything, the dedicated volunteer raced along the roads and rapidly arrived at the location. She arrived together with additional United Hatzalah responders.
They were met by a scene of utter chaos. A man was lying unconscious on the ground next to his vehicle, surrounded by agitated family members. One car window was smashed; apparently, the man had collapsed while in the car and a family member had shattered a window to get him out.
The trained volunteers didn’t get distracted by the panic and hysteria all around them, focusing directly on the patient. Berger checked the man’s pulse and found that he indeed had a heartbeat and was breathing shallowly. The EMTs assessed his consciousness level and discovered that he was totally unresponsive. Working together, Berger together with the other medics administered oxygen and set up an IV line. They continued providing oxygen and stabilizing the man’s condition until an intensive care ambulance arrived and evacuated the patient to the hospital.
In another incident a group of neighbors thought they heard an elderly man who lived alone calling weakly for help. Berger was alerted to the emergency at around 11:30 pm, but despite the late hour, she quickly raced off to the address. Additional United Hatzalah medics arrived, as well as police and rescue teams. After the fire crew broke through the door, Noa and the other medics entered the apartment.
They found the 100 year-old gentleman lying on the floor, pale, thin and extremely weak. He had obviously been lying there for a significant amount of time. The United Hatzalah medics immediately assessed the elderly man’s condition, finding him conscious and aware of his surroundings with an injured arm and leg. The team quickly stabilized the man, placed him on a stretcher, and rushed him off to the hospital for further intervention.
Berger spoke highly about the organization. “Volunteering with United Hatzalah is one of the most meaningful things that I have ever done in my life. The ability to get to a person in need of help quickly, to know how to identify what it is that is the problem and what will help them, and having the knowledge and the tools necessary to provide that help at this traumatic moment for the person in need – is a feeling of satisfaction that is like no other. United Hatzalah gave me these abilities. It has filled me up, brought me incredible amounts of gratification, in work that is interesting, challenging, and incredibly meaningful.”
