The following is a letter from Marieke Brown, who has been the guiding hand behind our local ambulance service for some years now.
Dear Awesome Akumal Community:
For those of you who were able, thank you for attending the presentation Thursday from Hector Juarez Garcia and PSP (Provider of Protection Services), and the Akumal Ambulance team.
As you know, thanks to your financial support, we have successfully maintained the Ambulance in Akumal for a little over 3 years now, and in doing so, we have seen deaths drop in the first year alone by 500%. Over the 3 years, the paramedics have helped almost 500 people ranging from minor injuries to major car crashes, semi drownings, heart attacks, and even the birth of 2 babies last year!
Due to our geographical location, and also due to the serious lack of government supplied emergency services, it is really difficult for ambulances, firefighters, and other life-saving emergency service providers to get to Akumal in a timely manner in the event of an accident or emergency, as their bases are located in the more the heavily populated areas of Playa del Carmen and Tulum. A rapid emergency response is critical to the chances of survival of a victim, and so we have been very proud to have been able to help provide that rapid response in Akumal over the last few years.
During the last years, we have found that our system, while it is a dramatic improvement from the lack of services that we previously had, still has its challenges, and we have been working on ways to improve the service and offer even better care to our community. We were delighted to announce our plan for an improved rapid response ambulance service for the greater Akumal area, with the exciting opportunities to run first aid, CPR, and AED training courses for our community and even pediatric first aid courses, so that Akumal will become one of the safest and most well-prepared communities on the coast.
We are working together with the local security program in Akumal with plans to create a 24/7 central dispatch center together, where our locally based security, police, and paramedics, and eventually, firefighters can be sent to help with emergencies in our growing community, from Akumal to Chemuyil, and we are privilaged to be working together with, and receiving consultation from, a group of people with an increible amount of experience in this field.
Of course, the success of these kinds of projects is only possible with the help of our community, and we invite you to support our emergency services by continuing to attend the fundraiser events that we have throughout the year and donate as regularly as you can. We would like to thank la Buena Vida Restaurant for their generosity on Thursday and for hosting us, and also all of the wonderful people and businesses who donate to the Ambulance through the year to keep it on the road. We could not do this without you.
We appreciated your time and interest in this important next step in helping save lives. If you would like to find out more or if you would like to be involved, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.
Thank you again for your support!
Warm regards, Marieke
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