Chapala Red Cross staff and volunteers gathered at the local clinic on Monday, October 29 to unveil the latest addition to its emergency fleet.
The new ambulance is a fully refurbished 2003 model Ford Econoline van fitted with oxygen equipment and other first response gear, along with air conditioning, sirens and flashing lights. It will complement three other first response units that are currently in adequate working conditions.
The vehicle was acquired through a matching funds program in which Cruz Roja International Volunteers Chapala, Inc. (CRIVC) chipped in 128,000 pesos to equal the amount paid by Cruz Roja Jalisco. Selected from various used ambulances the state organization imported from the United States to press into service, it previously belonged to the city of Livermore, California.The new ambulance will be based at the Red Cross substation in Ajijic for first response situations in that vicinity and points west.
Cruz Roja Delegacion Lago de Chapala operates 24 hours per day, seven days per week, serving more than 140,000 people living and visiting along Lake Chapala’s north and south shores, spanning the municipalities of Poncitlan, Chapala, Jocotepec, Tuxcueca and Tizapan el Alto.
CRIVC was founded in 2007 as Texas-based non-profit an incorporation, permitting deductible donations for United States tax payers. The ambulance is the second major acquisition the group has funded, the other being the clinic’s x-ray equipment.
For more information about Cruz Roja Chapala services, CRIV activities and useful emergency health care tips, consult www.cruzrojalakeside.com.