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Ambulance in El Sargento/La Ventana tow truck number

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Ambulance  in El Sargento/La Ventana  tow truck number Empty Lupitas ambulance service number is now 612-159-0468

Post by dean Fri Jan 12, 2018 12:04 pm

Lupitas ambulance service number is now 612-159-0468

dean

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Ambulance  in El Sargento/La Ventana  tow truck number Empty Re: Ambulance in El Sargento/La Ventana tow truck number

Post by dean Wed Jan 25, 2017 5:58 pm

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES HERE
Foreigners here need to be aware that using our local ambulance is NOT FREE. The service is run entirely by dedicated and COMPLETELY UNPAID volunteers who are ON CALL 24/7 !!! There is only a small monthly grant from the Delegacion towards gas, and nothing for maintenance and repairs, nor replacement of supplies, nor any honorarium to the volunteers. When the gas money runs out, the volunteers sometimes buy gas themselves so they can answer calls. They also have to pay out of their own pocket for their training and uniforms, and they use their personal cellphones to run the service at their own cost.

A committee has been formed to work towards getting regular funding from the Municipality of La Paz and some pay for volunteers. In the meantime, the suggested contribution for foreign users is 2,000 pesos per callout, plus extra to reimburse the service for any items used which then have to be replaced, such as neck brace, splints, bandages, etc. An additional gratuity for the volunteers would be appreciated, in recognition of their wonderful efforts in very stressful circumstances with almost no resources. If you've ever been on call, you'll know how draining this is. A full schedule of costs will soon be provided to all ambulance users, and will be posted on the View and around town.

It would be extremely helpful if people who have previously used the ambulance without contributing to the costs of running the service would help us make up ground by making the suggested contribution now.

Money can be given directly to Lupita, the driver/senior volunteer who has committed the last 5 years of her life to this. She will provide a numbered receipt for all contributions to the service (but not for any gratuity offerings to assist the volunteers themselves). You can contact Lupita on 612-159-0468.
If you don't speak Spanish, or just for your convenience, you can go through any of the people listed below. Anyone who just wishes to help the ambulance service can also donate in this way, specifying whether for the service or for the volunteers. The upcoming Art Fair at Plaza El Teso will be a fundraiser for the ambulance and is another opportunity to donate. The contact people for channelling contributions are:

Mary Sim, s
Mary Twombly, mtwo (or find her at her stall at the Farmers’ Market)
Thomas Munro, thomasm
Chris Bradley, chris.

If in future you need emergency medical help, before calling the ambulance please consider whether you can get there quickly and safely with the help of friends and neighbours, especially if anyone nearby has paramedical training. The ambulance volunteers' training is a work in progress, the ambulance has very little special equipment on board and they cannot properly stabilize suspected spinal fractures. So unless you need oxygen or CPR you are better off to go direct to one of the La Paz hospitals.

If you have medical insurance or cost is not an issue, go to the private Fidepaz ("purple") hospital on Delfines street at the Walmart end of Abosolo (612-124-0040). Many of the staff speak a little English and they have pretty good facilities, equipment and specialists. Take your credit card. Be prepared to have someone stay overnight with you as your functioning will likely be very reduced by drips, monitors, morphine, shock, injury etc. A comfy couch and bedding is provided in each room for that purpose.

If you are on a tight budget, the Salvatierra public hospital is much cheaper but has fewer facilities and fewer staff with any English. Go straight at the Soriana intersection, then 1st left on Paseo de las Deportistas and keep going (612-175-0503).
Thanks in advance for your cooperation. And please spread the word

dean

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Ambulance  in El Sargento/La Ventana  tow truck number Empty Ambulance in El Sargento/La Ventana tow truck number

Post by dean Fri Feb 01, 2013 1:23 pm

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What we all need to know about the Ambulance service in El Sargento/La Ventana

The ambulance is run ENTIRELY BY VOLUNTEERS. The current El Sargento team consists of 11 local people and was newly formed last October after the previous volunteers got burnt out. Team members are gradually being trained in basic first aid by instructors from La Paz (e.g. this week ‘s topic was the rudiments of CPR ) and are doing the best they can in very challenging circumstances. They are unpaid, have no budget, very little equipment (not even splints, or oxygen), and have to fundraise for essentials such as plastic gloves, bandages and even the diesel fuel they need to run the vehicles. They have to pay for their own uniforms, and for their training. They use their personal phones for their emergency calls and sometimes have to chip in for the fuel.

The ambulances were donated by the government 14 years ago but there is no budget for maintenance. The larger one is out of service at the moment until funds can be raised to repair it. El Sargento’s team covers the whole area from Rancho Ancon (halfway to La Paz) down as far as Los Muertos, since Los Planes has no ambulance service at the moment due to lack of trained volunteers. Because of zone boundaries, our local ambulances cannot take patients directly to a hospital in La Paz. They have to wait at the city limits (sometimes for 45 mins or more) for a La Paz ambulance to meet them and take over the patient. If it is not a life-threatening emergency or an obviously broken bone, they have to go first to the clinic and get a note from the doctor authorizing transportation to a hospital.

If you need transportation to emergency medical assistance: under current conditions, your best option is probably to rely on the paramedical knowledge of people close by, and get someone with a reliable vehicle in which you can lie flat to transport you straight to either the private “purple” hospital in Fidepaz (if you have insurance) or to the new public hospital near Soriana (if you don’t have insurance). Take someone with you who speaks Spanish, if possible.

If you choose to use the ambulance: please assist them afterwards with a donation. This is what Mexican families do, but foreigners have generally not done so, probably because they assumed it was a free service.

If you have used the local ambulance in the past: could you please consider making a contribution now?

Donations: can be made to the Volunteer Organiser, Lupita Cosio Barrera, who can be reached on 612 103 4377, or lulubel1976 via hotmail hotmail.com, or at the Star Market. The finances are managed transparently by a volunteer committee.
The motto of the organisation of ambulance volunteers with which El Sargento’s group is affiliated is “Giving from the heart”. Let us do the same. To avoid the new team burning out, they need all the support they can get.
Further information can be obtained from Heidi Hart on 612 153 4375 or harthe77  , or Chris Bradley on 612 136 1609, or chris.bradley3 both at  gmail.com

tow truck at the t intersection 612-114-2490

dean

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