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NEWS
Yad Sarah Saves Government NIS 1.5 Billion Yearly
By Yechiel Sever
In preparation for a meeting of the Knesset Finance Committee
to discuss whether nonprofit organizations contribute to the
country economically, Yad Sarah made a series of
calculations. Based on conservative estimates, it was found
that in 2007 Yad Sarah saved the state NIS 1.5 billion ($460
million) by shortening hospital stays.
Financial Director Naftali Michaeli explains how the
calculation was done: "Of the dozens of devices the
organization's volunteers lend out, we selected four devices
without which patients are not released from the hospital. We
calculated the number of days these devices were lent out to
patients and multiplied by the cost of one day of
hospitalization. The result was NIS 1.47 billion." Michaeli
also says that the amount saved is actually greater since he
didn't include indirect savings, such as lost workdays of
family members that did not happen when the patient was sent
home.
As part of Civil Society Day the Knesset Labor Committee held
a meeting on the status of the volunteer in the National
Insurance Law. Yad Sarah has more than 6,000 volunteers,
including 5,000 staff volunteers. A conservative estimate
showed that the staff volunteers alone contributed nearly a
million hours of volunteer labor during the course of 2007.
Based on the hourly minimum wage (NIS 21) and NIS 180 per
hour for volunteer doctors and lawyers, the combined hours
are worth NIS 26.7 million, which is equivalent to one-third
of Yad Sarah's annual budget.
Yad Sarah volunteers come from a variety of different
backgrounds: liberal arts, high tech, nursing and
rehabilitation, upkeep and maintenance, education, manual
labor, etc. Last year Yad Sarah volunteers assisted 400,000
people at over 100 branches around the country.
Improvements and development at Yad Sarah are made possible
by donations. The organization's budget for 2008 comes to NIS
80 million ($25 million). Yad Sarah does not receive
government support for its regular budget and in 2007
government funding covered 5 percent of the organization's
services, which was less than the amount Yad Sarah actually
paid to the authorities.
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