A Community of Care
By Jake Mullery, Eagle Nest EMS Director, Contributing Writer
Healthcare is often a service that is taken for granted in urban areas. Where only 3% of land is categorized as urban (Health Resources & Services Administration, 2022) nearly 65% of all community hospitals in the United States are located there (American Hospital Association, 2022). Let us not forget that 80.7% of the American public call urban areas home and the demand for services are far greater in these densely populated areas (Census, 2010).
With fewer facilities per square mile in rural areas such as our own the responsibility to provide care oftentimes falls on the shoulders of committed volunteers. Lucky for us here in the Moreno Valley we have a wonderful community of caregivers to thank! On November 10 Good Samaritans from throughout the Moreno Valley and the Aging and Long Term Services Department came together to provide the public with a local vaccination clinic hosted at the Eagle Nest Ambulance Service vehicle bay. Over 100 residents received flu shots, COVID boosters, or both!
A big thank you to all of the wonderful volunteers that made this event so successful!
And still there was more to November 10th. The Village of Eagle Nest hosted the first town hall meeting regarding a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) project that is in the works for the Moreno Valley! A second town hall was hosted in Red River on November 22 and all the parties involved in bringing additional healthcare resources to the Moreno Valley hope to have more town hall meetings in the area to better understand what the public wants.
Eagle Nest Ambulance Service wishes you all the most festive and safe of holiday seasons.
Keep an ear to the ground for town hall meetings that may be occurring near you and please share your vision of healthcare in the Moreno Valley with our team. If you have not already followed the Eagle Nest Ambulance Service’s Facebook page and are interested in remaining up-to-date with the CAH project please be sure to like us. As we continue to develop the project we intend to post updates on Facebook and other platforms. n