Lakeside residents, especially those living in Ajijic and west of the village, will soon be able to take advantage of a new Red Cross clinic offering a full range of emergency services (with the exception of x-rays).
The Cruz Roja’s Ajijic substation is being remodeled to accommodate this small scale emergency medical facility.
The 24-hour staff will include a doctor, nurse and emergency medical technicians (EMTs). They will be available for EKG, examinations, blood pressure checks, diabetic testing, consultations, suturing and a broad range of triage activities.
Walk-in patients will be welcome for general purpose first-aid treatment.
Any potential life-threatening event can be addressed in Ajijic as EMTs will be in radio contact with the main facility in Chapala.Up until now the substation has been nothing more than a parking spot for an ambulance, with modest resting quarters for paramedics, serving to speed up ambulance response time to accidents and emergencies that occur in the immediate vicinity of Ajijic and points west. The ambulance responds to more than 60 calls each month.
Funding for the building has come from the state tourism trust fund, known as the Fideicomiso de los Municipios del Interior del Estado de Jalisco. The fund is financed by the hospitality surtax collected by local hotels to fund tourism-related projects. In the past money from the fund has been used for publishing local tourism promotional materials and printing Ajijic Limpio bumper stickers.
Fideicomiso President Alfonso Alvarez Del Castillo Arambula says this investment will benefit both Mexicans and foreign residents/tourists at Lakeside.
An independent group of Mexican businessmen is furnishing the chairs and tables and providing the medical equipment for the clinic.
In addition, the owner of the property, Salvador Arreguin, the proprietor of neighboring Fonda Doña Lola, has allowed the Cruz Roja to extend its favorable lease for another eight years.
“We feel very blessed by the actions of the Mexican community,” said Oscar España Ramos, president of the Cruz Roja Chapala Delegation board of directors.
The board has developed several strategies to ensure the clinic does not affect the Cruz Roja’s operating costs but says continued support from the foreign community will be key to maintaining the Ajijic facility.
Cruz Roja does not receive financial support from the Mexican government and operates entirely on private donations.
An open house and public tours of the new clinic are being planned for late May upon completion of the project.
Those interested in offering financial help to this important project should contact Norm Pifer at (376) 766-0616.