Bakersfield West Rotary facilitates ambulance donation
Hall Ambulance Service Inc. of Bakersfield has generously donated an ambulance as part of an international service project organized by the Bakersfield West Rotary Club.
The Bakersfield West Club will ship the ambulance to Guatemala for use by a small hospital in the highland community of Santiago Atitlán in the Sololá Province of Guatemala. Bakersfield West Rotary is partnering with the Guatemala City West Rotary Club, which identified the hospital’s need for the ambulance.
Hospital Atitlán is a small nongovernment, nonprofit hospital serving approximately 75,000 Mayans who live on the southern shore of Lake Atitlán. The hospital, originally built in the 1960s, has endured many hardships over the years, including civil war in the 1970s and a cholera epidemic in the 1990s, which completely closed the facility for 12 years. The local residents suffered greatly as a result of the hospital’s closing.
In 2003 a group of local citizens spearheaded an effort to renovate the older buildings and reopen the hospital. The facility was reopened in April 2005, only to be nearly destroyed by a tropical storm that hit Guatemala in October of the same year. In order to serve the needs of the community, the hospital continued to operate in a temporary location, averaging almost 600 visits per month.
It was determined that rebuilding the hospital in the same location was not a long-term solution, based on recommendations from seismologists, volcanologists and hydrologists. Through donations a more viable plot of land was acquired on the north side of the community and with help from local and international humanitarian organizations, including Rotary, the hospital was completely rebuilt.
Today the hospital provides a full range of preventative and clinical health services with an emphasis on serving women and children. Many patients cannot afford care and the hospital relies on donations to maintain staffing. The facility has the only 24/7 emergency services within a twohour radius. An ambulance has been on their wish list for some time and thanks to the generous donation from Hall Ambulance, the Bakersfield West Rotary and the Guatemala West Rotary Clubs are proud to make this happen.
The Bakersfield West Rotary Club actively participates in a wide variety of local and international service projects. If you would like more information, or are interested in joining, contact current president Andy Stanley at 661-619-9853.