BajaNomad

Desert Hawks... Rescue Services in El Rosario... Since the Beginning

BajaCactus - 1-3-2014 at 11:07 PM

Non-profit rescue group Desert Hawks in El Rosario... our story and information:

Conception...

After years of seeing injured and seek people suffer from a lack of rescue services in El Rosario and surrounding areas, two years ago I decided to make a something about it.

The last straw came when three american guys, driving motorcycles, stayed at our motel one night. The next day they left southbound, very happy and excited to enjoy the beauties of Baja. Several hours later they returned with one of them very badly injured... he was in deep pain, had a broken hip and there was no way to transport him safely back to the US. It was very painful for him to even move and he ended up getting a ride in a pickup. That was not acceptable.

The closest ambulance services to El Rosario, when available, is Red Cross north of San Quintín, more that 80km away... and that is only to El Rosario. In town there are no hospitals with trauma equipment nor personal, which means that for an accident south of El Rosario you had to wait at least 2 hours for an ambulance to arrive and then another two hours to go back to San Quintín to a hospital to be treated... as I said before: Not Acceptable.

Therefore I decide to talk about this issue with my dear friend Andy Schouten, (together we operate a non profit foundation called Comitment, Inc) and we decided to start a new project: creating a completely non profit rescue group in El Rosario. We began working on it and after several months of contacting organizations here and there we received an ambulance in donation from Schaefer Ambulance Services, in Los Angeles, CA.

Preparations...

We then proceeded to import it to Mexico and make some mechanical maintainance... and after 4,000 USD we finally had it in El Rosario.

I then invited some friends in town to form a rescue group and after a couple of weeks we had a crew. Now we needed training and for that I approached Red Cross... the were very willing and helpful and we received several courses... many and many hours of training until finally we were certified to drive and operate the ambulance and rescue services. The Desert Hawks have been born.

Implementation...

We became active in March 2013... just in time to attend the increase in traffic due to the easter holidays.

We began with one ambulance and a very short list of medical supplies and basically no money. Our idea was to request donations from people we help and have a couple of public events to raise funds... but it did not went like we thought. The few events we made were not succesful and we have received very few donations. Nevertheless we kept going... I personaly have put down several thousands dollars to keep these emergency services active.

Then, in June 2013, the State Government realizes what we were doing and approached me to offer a second ambulance in donation to our group... but no money to support them. We took it of course.

Coverage...

Now we have two ambulances to cover this region. The area we cover is from south of Cataviña to North of El Rosario, that is an extension of couple of hundred miles of highway and trails. Usually when one leaves for an emergency, the other one stands ready in case of a second one. There have been a couple of accidents with multiple injured people that we have had to use both ambulances.

During 2013, we attended 69 emergencies, including amongst them 8 US citizens...We have rescued and saved multiple lives, attended car crashes, kids run over by cars, transported seek and injured people... around seven emergencies average per month... too many for a service that was supposed not to be needed around here.

The last one we helped in 2013 was our dear BajaNomad friend DavidE... we closed the year helping him. Now in 2014, we had an emergency the 1st of January and another one the next day... I will post some pictures later.

Current status...

At the moment we are still struggling to keep our services active. We have already submitted paperwork and requests to every government department we could find. We are still waiting for an answer.

We are completely non profit and I intend to keep it that way... my Hawks understands that we do not stop helping and saving anyone... it does not matter if they have money or not... rescue and transport to the hospital first, then the rest.

How do we support our services?... Well, mostly BajaCactus (the business) have been sponsoring us, plus minor donations received and very little money we made from a few events last year.

We require money to pay for diesel and mechanical repairs (the ambulance donated by Schaefer to us is now with the mechanic being repaired)... we need medical supplies, equipment, rigid cervical collars, splints, etc.

Future...

My plan is long term... I do not know how but I will find a way to keep these rescue services active and improve them. The need for the "Jaws of Life", a rapid response fire truck and a small tanker truck has been coming up in several accidents we have attended. Also there were four fires in town last year and there were devastating, why?... simple, there is no fire station in town, nearest one is in San Quintín, at least 40 minutes away.

Also because the particulars of this area that I believe you all must know (Cataviña-San Quintín), the long distances to the nearest hospitals (the real one truly equipped for attending trauma emergencies, surgeons and everything else is in Ensenada), the need for an air evacuation medical emergency service has also become obvious.

I hope the government can help us in the future and perhaps in time the local community will jump in to help us as well.

Activation (I will also put this information on a separate thread)...

In order to activate the Desert Hawks, 24/7, you may do it in several ways:

1.- Call our direct emergency number: (616) 103-0262
2.- Call the local police station: (616) 165-8858
3.- Call BajaCactus: (616) 165-8850
4.- Call Red Cross in San Quintín: (616) 165-3637

How to help Desert Hawks...

Any donations you can make, no matter how small or little, rest assure it will make a difference.

We can receive your donations for medical supplies and/or items either personaly at BajaCactus in El Rosario or deliver/sent to our US address in San Diego (Commitment, Inc).

For financial donations we can receive them online via PayPal or sent by check. In the US made to "Commitment, Inc"... in Mexico to "Fundacion Commitment International, A.C.".

We can also provide anyone who requests it tax deductible receipts either in the US and/or Mexico.

I will post the PayPal link and both addresses in another thread.

We have just started, we are only 10 months old and so far have change the course of life of several people... there is still much to do... lots of work... but as I have always thought, if we decide to do so, if we put our mind to it: Together we can save lives!!!

Antonio Muñoz
BajaCactus

[Edited on 1-4-2014 by BajaCactus]

[Edited on 8-2-2014 by BajaNomad]

David K - 1-4-2014 at 12:25 AM

Wonderful and thank you!

Mula - 1-4-2014 at 06:53 AM

How absolutely wonderful, Antonio.

Do you know the Mayor of Mulege?

He has started a Sub station for the beach communities south of Mulege and has gotten it outfitted with a fire truck and ambulance.
Maybe you could talk with him about excess equipment they receive.

They just got 2 jaws of life given to them. One is not at the main station in Mulege and the substation has the other jaws of life that they carry to all accidents in a restored old abandoned Toyota van.

Mulege Bomberos Sub Station Facebook Page

Edited to add link to page.

[Edited on 1-4-2014 by Mula]

rts551 - 1-4-2014 at 08:23 AM

good job Antonio.

2 - questions
-a couple of years ago an ambulance was parked at the bed and breakfast the Ed Lusk owns. what happened to that one and its equipment?

- and when able, do those that use your service pay anything? An advertized fee for those able to pay might be helpful until government assistance is provided.

ANTONIO

bajaguy - 1-4-2014 at 01:49 PM

Please contact Jacque or Minerva at Sharp International Patient Services and send them the information regarding your ambulance service.

They may be able to help you out with basic ambulance supplies.

http://www.sharp.com/international-services/index.cfm

DavidE - 1-4-2014 at 01:54 PM

There's not going to be any "government assistance". God, I hate to be cynical but typical "government assistance" amounts to let's say a thousand dollar donation, which requires three hundred dollars worth of bookkeeping to administer (forever), and five thousand dollars allotted for a grand buffet for government officials who give long winded speeches about how great their political party is - read it in the newspaper because five hundred reporters were "invited" to partake in the feast.

What DOES WORK are cash donations. People willing to spend time on the telephone in the USA pestering organizations that can donate material. Folks who have the ability to get requested medical devices. Even folks who use One Touch Test Strips to test blood sugar who can donate an extra unused vial or two. Donating isn't cheap, some kind soul who decides to bring down a new Michelin tire, or top quality 12-volt tire inflation compressor is just as important as someone who donates a wad of cash. It all counts. Wouldn't it be nice to have a strong welded "drop box" somewhere in the gasolinera with a slot to drop cash? Open the padlock? Get gas, get cash, and then slip some bills through the slot.

I've got plans to get ahold of some spares, a brand new Nippondenso gear reduction diesel starter motor and that Denso 220-amp alternator, and have them ready to go so Antonio does not have to worry about where to find these specialty items.

I virtually rebuilt the electrical systems on the two donated IMSS ambulances for the Ensenada 2o hospital back in the early 1990's. Federal light bars, new Leece-Neville 165 amp alternators, alternating headlight flashers, Trace inverters, the whole works. So I am no stranger to this kind of project.

Rather than sit on my butt and dwell on the fact I am getting old and frail, I am going to help any which way I can.

rts551 - 1-4-2014 at 02:48 PM

David, May I ask how much your ride North by the Desert Hawks cost?


Ralph

DavidE - 1-4-2014 at 03:35 PM

Sure. Are you circumcised?

rts551 - 1-4-2014 at 03:52 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DavidE
Sure. Are you circumcised?


I'll take that as a no.

DavidE - 1-4-2014 at 04:40 PM

The appropriate person to ask about rates and tariffs is Antonio. Even when I got a ride from Pescadero to La Paz in 2011, it took the Seguro Popular nine working days to come up with a bill for my transport. Here it is Saturday and my transport was done early in the AM on Tuesday. I have not asked Antonio about the bill. It will be presented to me when he is ready to do so. If you are interested in "HOW" I am going to satisfy the debt, repayment will be in the form of cash, parts out-of-pocket and several dozens of hours of donated labor to improve the reliability of both ambulances. I can assure you my total "payment" will be far in excess of what monetary figure is expressed on a statement. My task on the ambulances started long before this transport. You have to admit, señor, most of your historic comments to my posts and replies have not been "amiable". Therefore I answered an inappropriately posed question with a little humor. There is no way on earth a commercial transport of this length would not cost several thousands of dollars.

wilderone - 1-4-2014 at 04:56 PM

Wow! What one man can accomplish!

rts551 - 1-4-2014 at 05:02 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DavidE
The appropriate person to ask about rates and tariffs is Antonio. Even when I got a ride from Pescadero to La Paz in 2011, it took the Seguro Popular nine working days to come up with a bill for my transport. Here it is Saturday and my transport was done early in the AM on Tuesday. I have not asked Antonio about the bill. It will be presented to me when he is ready to do so. If you are interested in "HOW" I am going to satisfy the debt, repayment will be in the form of cash, parts out-of-pocket and several dozens of hours of donated labor to improve the reliability of both ambulances. I can assure you my total "payment" will be far in excess of what monetary figure is expressed on a statement. My task on the ambulances started long before this transport. You have to admit, señor, most of your historic comments to my posts and replies have not been "amiable". Therefore I answered an inappropriately posed question with a little humor. There is no way on earth a commercial transport of this length would not cost several thousands of dollars.


You take it wrong and it was not inappropriate given the "requests" for donations. I was looking at ways cash donations can be solicited. One way is to enumerate the cost of a trip.

and I guess you do not remember the one time we had a face to face while you lived in the trailer in Tecate. Much more amiable. Ni Modo

DavidE - 1-4-2014 at 05:26 PM

As far as I am concerned I wish to spin positive anything I deal with. Señor Antonio drove more than 500 miles to the border then return to El Rosario. Code 3, a 9.500 lb ambulance gets about 8 miles per gallon. Let's call it 65 gallons including idle time.

Look at Antonio's current post merely for the cost of fuel. Shall we call it two hundred fifty dollars? There is tire wear, vehicle wear, brakes, tires, and repair labor. One freaking burned out lamp costs fifty dollars FOB USA.

A Leece-Neville R-7706 alternator costs eight hundred dollars. Starter motors cost five hundred, and a reman 7.3 diesel engine more than five thousand dollars. The transmission more than a thousand, this does not include "mano de obra".

Hundreds of dollars in telephone calls can be burned in days, soliciting equipment, finding repair parts, and making arrangements to get them across the border.

The short Code 3 ride from Customs Secondary to Sharps, cost $2,273.58

I hope this illustrates the depth and context of perspective you wish to compute to determine the amount of donation needed to keep the service alive. It is formidable.

BajaLuna - 1-6-2014 at 11:56 AM

thanks for everything you do, Antonio!

bajamedic - 1-8-2014 at 07:29 AM

Antonio, after reading several different threads about your service, I contacted some of my old contacts regarding some of your needs. I have not been able to locate a good, working cardiac monitor, but an AED is available. It is still programed for the "old" protocol, but works great and the batteries are in good condition. I have located at least one good ambulance gurney with mattress and may have a second one available. I will be in the Southern California/Arizona area in the next week or two, if you have any contacts where they can be stored until another Nomad is coming into your area of Baja. I will continue looking for additional equipment and supplies until I come south. JH

redmesa - 1-8-2014 at 09:10 AM

I will gladly donate but I am still not sure the easiest way. If nothing else I will give some at BajaCactus.
How can we report an accident or distress in that large area of cellphone deadness around Catavina?

BajaCactus - 1-8-2014 at 03:00 PM

I would like to thank everyone who has taken a moment to thank us... your nice comments and positive energy in them revitalizes us... but above all, the suggestions are very helpful, I have already taken note on all of them... and already taken action on some... THANK YOU!!!


Bajamedic... thank you so much for your efforts in helping our rescue group, your expertise and knowledge as a retired Paramedic is specially important to me. As a rescue group we have been trained in several areas by Red Cross, and now we know enough to know we do not know enough... any advice you can give us is very welcome.

Regarding the AED and the gurney... That is WONDERFUL!!!... in this area and AED is very important. The nearest hospital with a defibrillator is in Col. Guerrero, 120km away (there is none in El Rosario)... and as you know it is impossible to maintain CPR for over an hour... getting one would be incredible, not to say it will be the only one in town.

We can receive any donations in the US trough or non profit foundation: Commitment, Inc. If you could please U2U or e-mail me your contact information in order to coordinate with you. Our e-mail is info*at*halconesdeldesierto.org

Again, thank you all!!!

Antonio M.

BajaCactus - 1-8-2014 at 07:24 PM

Here you have our information for emergency services, help and support: Desert Hawks Emergency and Contact thread

Thank you!!!

Antonio M.