"Israel's Finest" were heroes in the north on Wednesday in a tense drama that unfolded as a medical clinic tried to reach a patient who was unaware that her blood tests had revealed a life-threatening condition.
After the medical staff failed to reach the 40-year-old woman, the Clalit Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) called the general "100" police assistance switchboard to help locate the patient. Test results indicated that immediate medical attention was needed in order to keep her alive, the staff explained to the police dispatcher.
Thus began a race against time as Haifa police officers worked to locate the woman. A mobile unit was sent to her address, but she wasn't there. Police ran a check through the computer system and discovered that the woman had filed a complaint several months ago about a burglary at her apartment.
With some fast detective work, police were able to track down where the woman had gone, and finally traced her to another apartment. When they got there, however, they ran into a different problem: she refused to come with them. There was no point, she said, because she had no money to pay for the hospitalization despite the danger to her life.
The officers called the police dispatcher with this news. The dispatcher immediately contacted the regional medical director of the Clalit HMO -- who authorized the hospitalization, gratis. Witnessed over the phone by the police dispatcher, the woman would not be held responsible for the bill, the director said.
The police mobile unit rushed the woman to the hospital, where she received medical attention, and her life was saved.