Hatzala Air led by founder Eli Rowe Launches New Medical Helicopter Base in Jerusalem

Hatzala Air, led by founder and president Eli Rowe, has opened a new medical helicopter facility in Jerusalem to expand the organization's capacity for rapid emergency air evacuation and medical transport.

The Herzog Helipad, located at the Herzog Medical Center in Jerusalem, was officially launched over the weekend. The facility is designed to operate medical helicopters, including the organization's Sikorsky S-76, and will serve as a new operational base for Hatzala Air in the region.

Alongside the helipad, the organization has established a Jerusalem operations center with infrastructure for flight operations, command and coordination, and facilities for medical, flight, and ground crews.

NIS 5 Million Investment in the New Facility

The establishment of the complex involved an investment of approximately NIS 5 million in infrastructure, buildings, equipment and operational readiness.

The project was supported by donors, with David and Judy Agur among the principal contributors.

The helipad covers an area of approximately five dunams and is expected to be further developed as Hatzala Air expands its long-term aerial medical capabilities in the Jerusalem region.

Coverage Extending Beyond Jerusalem

The new base is intended to provide rapid aerial medical response not only to Jerusalem, but also to surrounding areas, including Beit Shemesh and the Lachish region, the Jordan Valley, the Dead Sea and Judea and Samaria, subject to the required regulatory approvals and operational coordination.

The facility will be operated by professional flight crews, medical personnel and ground and operational teams.

Hatzala Air says the Jerusalem base will operate in cooperation with Magen David Adom (MDA), Brook Aviation, Herzog Medical Center, Hadassah Medical Center and other partners.

Helicopter Designed for Critical Evacuations

The organization says the helicopter capability will provide an additional option in cases where rapid transport can be medically significant.

Potential missions include evacuation of seriously injured trauma patients, patients experiencing heart attacks or strokes, and urgent transfers to advanced medical centers.

The service is intended to complement existing ground-ambulance capabilities rather than replace them.

A Global Medical Aviation Organization

Hatzala Air is a nonprofit organization that combines professional aviation and medical teams, volunteers and donor support to provide medical transportation, patient transfers and rescue and humanitarian missions.

The organization began operating in the United States in 2018 and has since expanded its activities to additional countries and continents.

According to Hatzala Air, it has carried out more than 1,800 missions in more than 24 countries.

Its international destinations have included the United States, Israel, Ukraine, European countries, Mexico, Panama and Australia.

The organization's international aviation operations include a fleet of medical jets comprising a Gulfstream G550, two Citation X aircraft and a Citation CJ3.

Experience in War Zones and International Rescue

Hatzala Air has participated in a range of medical evacuation and rescue operations over the years.

Following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in 2022, the organization participated in evacuation and medical-transfer missions involving casualties from war-affected areas to Israel, including injured family members evacuated from Kyiv.

It has also assisted in the rescue and repatriation of injured Israelis, Holocaust survivors and other people in medical distress from various countries, including operations conducted in cooperation with Israel's Ministry of Aliyah and Integration.

Following the October 7, 2023 attack and during the subsequent war, helicopters operated jointly by Hatzala Air and MDA participated in evacuating wounded people from communities near the Gaza border.

Eli Rowe, president of Hatzala Air, said the organization's long-term vision is to shorten the distance between patients and appropriate medical care.

“Our vision is to bring medical assistance to a person who needs it, even when distance makes the journey to treatment complicated,” Rowe said.

“Over the years, Hatzala Air has built the ability to reach patients around the world. Now we are also investing in building a local capability in Israel.”

According to Rowe, the Jerusalem base, together with MDA and other partners, will allow the organization to gradually expand its operations and reach more patients in situations where rapid, professional medical evacuation can make a critical difference.

“An Additional Option in the Right Cases”

Dr. Aharon Adler, Hatzala Air's director and medical director, said his experience in emergency medicine in Jerusalem and surrounding areas has demonstrated the importance of transport time in serious medical emergencies.

“I have worked for many years in emergency medicine in Jerusalem and the surrounding area, and I know the cases in which the distance between the scene of an incident and the hospital becomes part of the medical challenge,” Adler said.

The organization's “Lev Haaretz” helicopter, he said, is intended to provide an additional option for appropriate cases, including severe trauma, cardiac events and strokes, as well as urgent transfers requiring advanced medical care.

“Not every patient needs a helicopter,” Adler said. “But when air evacuation is appropriate, we want this capability to be available to residents of Jerusalem and the surrounding region, in full cooperation with MDA and the hospitals.”

Building a Permanent Aerial Medical Capability

The launch of the Herzog Helipad marks another stage in Hatzala Air's expansion from an international medical aviation organization toward a broader local emergency-response capability in Israel.

The Jerusalem base combines aircraft, ground infrastructure, medical personnel and operational coordination in a single facility, with the stated goal of creating a permanent aerial medical response capability that can serve Jerusalem and additional regions when rapid evacuation is medically and operationally appropriate.