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One moment, nurse Tamar Aviad was on her way home after a long shift caring for premature babies. The next, she was climbing into the wreckage of an overturned truck in the pouring rain to help a seriously injured driver.
For Aviad and three fellow nurses from the Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO), what began as a routine ride home became an extraordinary demonstration of the skill, teamwork and dedication to saving lives that define nursing at Hadassah hospitals.
The four nurses had finished their shifts at Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem and boarded their regular shuttle home when a truck suddenly lost control on a rain-soaked road. The vehicle skidded directly toward their shuttle, threatening a potentially devastating collision.
"I remember suddenly waking up from sleep in the shuttle after a long shift. I looked up, saw what was happening, and was terrified because I could see the speeding truck coming from my direction," recalled Aviad, a nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Their shuttle driver reacted quickly, steering out of the truck's path. The runaway vehicle continued down the road, however, striking another truck and a bus. The smaller truck overturned and came to rest just meters from the edge of a steep embankment, trapping its driver inside.
Although shaken by their own near miss, the Hadassah nurses didn't hesitate.
Aviad, Liba Ofer of the Vascular Surgery Department, Einat Kaufman of the Pediatric Emergency Department and Reut Piotrkowski of Internal Medicine Department B immediately left the shuttle and rushed to help.
Ready to Help, Wherever They're Needed
Working in heavy rain and darkness, the nurses joined a medical resident who had stopped at the scene. Aviad climbed into the overturned truck, where she found the injured driver conscious but trapped beneath the wreckage.
"We got out of the shuttle, and it was pouring rain," Aviad recalled. "The truck had overturned completely, and we had to climb up to get inside and rescue the person trapped there."
Despite limited equipment, the nurses drew on their medical training to provide emergency care.
Kaufman helped obtain IV fluids and pain medication while contacting Fire and Rescue Services and Magen David Adom to ensure emergency responders were on their way. The nurses worked together to support the treatment effort, improvising ways to secure an IV line in the rain and darkness.
"We worked together as an exceptional team," Aviad said. "Even the nurse who remained outside the truck and was not directly treating the injured man helped by bringing us medical equipment from outside. Everyone contributed to this important effort to save someone who needed help."
From the NICU to a Roadside Emergency
For Aviad, the experience demonstrated how training at Hadassah hospitals prepares nurses to respond to emergencies far beyond their usual specialties.
"My specialty as a nurse at Hadassah is caring for premature babies and newborns, and I have worked in neonatal intensive care for years," she said. "That very morning, I had been caring for a baby weighing just 600 grams. A few hours later, I suddenly found myself treating an adult."
The circumstances couldn't have been more different, but her commitment to providing care remained the same.
"But that certainly didn't stop us or make us hesitate. Our medical knowledge and training enable us to help anyone who needs assistance."
After the team stabilized the injured driver, emergency crews and Fire and Rescue personnel arrived, freed him from the wreckage and transported him to a hospital.
For these HMO nurses, caring for others doesn't end when their hospital shifts do.
"Above all, this is our job and our calling: to help every person, regardless of who they are," Kaufman said. "When it was all over, we truly felt a sense of pride in being part of the Hadassah team and wearing our Hadassah uniforms as we provided emergency medical care right there at the scene."
