Cruz Roja Mexicana - Emergency response in Mexico

In Mexico, the medical emergency service that responds for any emergency call is a Cruz Roja Mexicana - Mexican Red Cross - ambulance team. This is also the case if a person needed to walk in for urgent emergency services.

During our trip, our group split into two. One group would go with the Red Cross one day, the other to work with the firemen - bomberos. Our group would alternate on the following day so both could experience the local medical services.

A paramedic named Alex, explained to our group about how the Red Cross operates in the area. The group, mainly consisting of volunteers, are responsible for responding to all Level 1 and Level 2 calls and if a patient needs to travel to Hermosillo for Level 3 care, they try to stabilize patients for the five to six hour ride.

The local Red Cross covers a range of 75km (about 45 miles) around Puerto Peñasco, answering anywhere from 8-24 calls a day depending on the tourism season. They will also transport to the U.S. border if needed.

Several of the ambulances in the bay were shown to us, with all being donated by One World Medics or by the Mexican or American government. Several of the group EMTs remarked how similar they were to our local ambulances, however several were missing vital pieces of equipment like defibrillators.

The Red Cross groups rely heavily on donations, and Alex explained how often paramedics buy anything immediately necessary like medications. More expensive instruments and accessories are often left wanting for a period of time.

It was explained that medical helicopters were only used for infants in life-threatening situations or if paid for by a person. Otherwise, everybody that needs short and long-range transport goes in one of the limited ambulances.

After getting insight on how the Red Cross operated, we waited for a call to experience the response first hand. Palouse local, Hua Ming Newman, was on deck to ride along with the Red Cross ambulance team on a call about a woman in distress. The woman was pregnant and was having abdominal pains, needing to be transported to the local hospital for treatment after evaluation by the EMTs.

Locals are also able to walk in for emergency services as well. During our visit, a carpenter named Christian, 21, had gotten a sliver of wood several inches in length under his fingernail while sanding a piece of wood. He walked down from his work site to the Red Cross station across town.

After taking Christian out of the lobby into the only private exam room, Rosalia District 7 Fire Department Chief Laura Lautenslager took the reins on the extraction. She had to numb the young man's finger, however, after several minutes the splinter was able to be removed, and the finger cleaned and bandaged.