The Busiest Day of the Year: A Hatzolah Member’s Perspective on Purim

1. Weiss

“It’s our single busiest day of the year,” Avraham Moshe Muller, senior Hatzolah member reports, noting that Hatzolah receives double to triple the number of calls on a regular day.

The cause is mainly due to one factor: alcohol. Or, to be more specific, alcohol that wasn’t handled correctly.

It’s not just more calls but also a much higher volume of hospital transfers. Last year, Hatzolah transported 60 patients.

The dangers

The dangers from alcohol come in different shapes and forms. “Our main calls are about young boys,” Muller says. “Partly because the younger you are, the harder time the body has handling alcohol, and partly because they don’t know what they’re doing. Often it’s a teenager who wants to feel like an adult, who never got drunk before and goes too far.”

Most often the problem is dehydration since alcohol drains the body, but there are more serious cases of alcohol poisoning. Although, thankfully, there aren’t too many incidents of drunk driving, there are many cases of people getting hurt due to impaired judgment. “They might sit down in the street, walk unsafely, bump into things because they can’t think straight.”

Hypothermia is another concern. Alcohol makes a person feel warm, preventing them from realizing the need for a coat. People who fall asleep on the sidewalks and in front yards can be at serious risk for hypothermia.

All of this is compounded by the fact that, frequently, Hatzolah is called in for an unconscious boy, but no one knows who he is. Avrum recalls getting a call from someone late at night after Purim was over. A teenage boy was unconscious in his bathroom, and the unwitting host didn’t recognize him at all. “We could barely get the door open since he was leaning against it. But then we had to take him to the hospital, and we had no ID, no way to contact his parents.”

When groups of tipsy bachurim make the rounds of people’s homes, it’s not uncommon for one boy to crash on the floor or couch, out cold. When the rest of his friends move on, they may either decide to leave him there or not even notice his absence. Hours later, when the hosts realize that the boy asleep on the floor needs help, there’s no one around to identify him. “This year presents a bigger challenge since it’s Shabbos, and it will be much harder to reach the parents,” Avrum comments.

This doesn’t mean that there shouldn’t be alcohol. It’s a long-standing mesorah and adds to the joy and atmosphere of Purim. But it should be done responsibly.

Hatzolah puts in hours and hours of preparation to make sure that Lakewood has enough coverage. Every member is polled to see who plans on drinking. Any member who does is asked to turn off their radio and not respond to any calls. The rest of the members are strategically made available, often needing to cover many more calls. The ambulances are also manned by Hatzolah members to make sure they are available for emergencies. “Purim is challenging due to the unusual level of the traffic, but we do all we can to make sure we have enough coverage for each area.”

What we can do

Hatzolah does their part, but there are many areas where the rest of the community can step in to help both mitigate the numbers of calls and to assist Hatzolah in their work.

Avrum implores hosts not to give alcohol to underage boys. “If they’re under twenty-one, they shouldn’t be given alcohol. They also should not be served alcohol if they are visibly drunk. I know it’s not easy—everyone wants their house to be happy and freilach—but it would prevent a lot of problems. This business of bachurim going from house to house, drinking in each one, ends up with stone-drunk bachurim.”

Many homes that have hundreds of groups coming in and out actually have bartenders dispensing drinks. A bartender can be instructed not to give alcohol to anyone who is underage or obviously drunk.

Many of the problems with drinking stem from a lack of awareness: mixing drinks, not drinking enough of other liquids, and not knowing when to stop. “I would love for rebbeim to talk to their talmidim and parents to talk to their children to educate them about the dangers of drinking and how to do it properly.”

It’s not just serious issues that bachurim should worry about. There are the hangovers, the headaches, the vomiting, the loss of an entire next day. There are also the emotional consequences of embarrassment, of discovering oneself waking up in a strange house all alone.

Avrum encourages bachurim to drink enough water or Gatorade on Purim, as this can help prevent dehydration—alcohol drains the body of fluids.

“From Hatzolah’s perspective,” Avrum adds, “we urge everyone to carry around an ID to make it easier to help them if need be. If someone is underage and doesn’t have one, they should stick a piece of paper with their name and contact details in their pocket. It will make a huge difference in our ability to help them since identifying patients is an issue we have every year.”

Purim should be beautiful and happy and, most importantly, safe. Hatzolah does their part to make it that way. It’s up to all of us to do the rest.

 

Sidebar

When should a person call Hatzolah?

A boy sprawled out, sleeping on the carpet, may be laughed off indulgently by onlookers, and it’s only hours later that Hatzolah is called.

“The barometer is if a person can’t wake up,” Avrum says. “If someone’s sleeping, and you nudge him and shake him, and he groans and tells you to go away, that just means he’s sleeping off the alcohol; it’s a healthy thing. But if he really isn’t responsive, then call Hatzolah. We’d always rather be called, even if it’s not really necessary.”

Avrum also reminds onlookers to check if the person is breathing. “Although it never happened in Lakewood, baruch Hashem, there are cases of someone who went to sleep after drinking and never woke up. Alcohol poisoning can be very serious.”