Why was Hatzalah started?
Hatzalah was started to take advantage of those few precious minutes during which immediate and proper care may mean the difference between a patient surviving or not surviving. Although Baltimore City Fire Department provides top-notch care, they may not be in a position to respond within those crucial first few minutes. If the local medic is currently out on a different call, a second unit from a further location will be dispatched. This means that those crucial first minutes are not being utilized to begin patient care. Since our volunteers are local, we can often be there within one minute of the call coming in to our dispatchers. Our goal is to have an average on-scene arrival of less than two minutes.
