BETHEL – Hatzolah, the volunteer EMS service, has set up its worldwide aviation division at Sullivan County International Airport in the Town of Bethel and has already undertaken relief missions in support of the Ukrainian people since the Russian invasion.
Eli Rowe, a commercial pilot and founder of Hatzolah Air, told Mid-Hudson News on Thursday night that they have flown numerous relief missions to the region.
“It was horrible. We couldn’t go into Ukraine because the air space was closed obviously, so we went to a place called Yassi in Romania nearby and we went to some other surrounding countries. They only gave us a very brief slot, so we had to pre-arrange everything,” he said. “We took thousands of pounds of rescue equipment, and we transported people as needed.”
Hatzolah Air operates four flying ambulances at present and is expecting seven more, all under the operational control of the organization.
Every doctor, EMT, dispatcher and board member is a volunteer. The pilots and the mechanics are paid.
The organization is presently operating from a Sullivan County-owned hangar, but the plans are for Hatzolah Air to construct its own hangar at the Bethel airport.
