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Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, seated next to Mark Gerson, Chairman of United Hatzalah, at city council caucus meeting announcement of new community-based 911 responder system. Patrick McGovern | The Jersey Journal

JERSEY CITY – Mayor Steve Fulop, a rare sight at City Council caucuses, sat in on the opening portion of last night's gathering for what he called a "significant" and "exciting" announcement.

Fulop, along with officials from Jersey City Medical Center-Barnabas Health and United Hatzalah – an Israeli community-based emergency care program – unveiled plans to launch a new community response system for ambulatory calls. The program, known as Community Based Emergency Care (CBEC), is modeled after the United Hatzalah program, which began in Israel in 2006.

The mobile app-based system will be the first of its kind in the United States.

"This program leverages people who are there," said Fulop. "And recognizes that people are inherently good and want to help."

Mark Gerson, chairman of United Hatzalah, demonstrated for the city council and gathered audience how the program will work. For example, Gerson said if a young child is choking inside a restaurant across the street from City Hall, there may qualified individuals nearby whom could potentially get to the child faster than EMS. However, they would have no way of knowing that their help is needed.

With CBEC, the United Rescue technology uses a GPS-enabled mobile app to track and deploy the nearest volunteer who can reach those in need before an ambulance arrives. Residents will still call 911, and an ambulance will be deployed. CBEC volunteers do not replace EMS responders, they will “bridge the gap” between the time someone calls 911 and the time the ambulance arrives, according to Robert Luckritz, director of EMS for JCMC.

Trained CBEC volunteers begin treatment and stabilize a patient’s condition until the EMS arrive on the scene. The objective is to reach patients within 150 seconds from the time of the emergency call.

According to Fulop, the program will be funded through philanthropic donations and come at no cost to taxpayers or JCMC.

In Israel, the program currently has 2,500 trained volunteers responding to 650 incidents a day, according to Gerson. Initially, Jersey City will set out to train 100 volunteers beginning Feb. 16. and hopes to have them ready to be deployed by July 1.

All volunteers will either live or work in Jersey City, with the goal of having volunteers spread out across all neighborhoods of the city. The city is reaching out to different groups, including clergy, the chamber of commerce, and various community groups to find volunteers.

Volunteers will not be fully trained as EMS professionals, but will receive between 60 and 90 hours of “first-responder type” training, according to Luckritz. They will also receive equipment, including oxygen and a defibrillator.

During the meeting, Councilman Michael Yun raised safety concerns, asking about the liability these volunteers may have. Luckritz said that volunteers would not be sent to places of danger, and Gerson added that volunteers would be protected under the New Jersey Good Samaritan law.

Both Fulop and Gerson were enthusiastic for Jersey City to become the first city in the United States to implement the program.

“Because of the leadership of Mayor Fulop and the Jersey City Medical Center EMS, Jersey City is poised to become the first city in the United States to deploy a system of community-based emergency caregivers that will enable residents and visitors who suffer from trauma to be treated on the right side of the moments that separate life from death," said Gerson in a press release.