Did you know that every time a resident of Patagonia has a medical emergency and calls the local medic team to their home for help, an ambulance and two EMTs from Sonoita arrive about 12 minutes later, in addition to the Patagonia squad?
The Sonoita-Elgin Fire District (SEFD) has a ‘Certificate of Necessity’ from the State of Arizona to provide patient transport by ambulance from anywhere in the district down to Patagonia Lake. Patagonia’s ambulances are limited to transport within town. In the past the town would have to call Tubac for such assistance.
In 2013 the SEFD made 108 ambulance runs to Patagonia to provide such backup in case they were needed for transport. 78 of these runs resulted in providing transportation of a Patagonia resident to a local hospital. The town of Patagonia is not charged for the transports, which are instead billed to patient insurance.
Chief Joseph DeWolf of the SEFD says, “We appreciate the opportunity to assist our friends in Patagonia, and these runs also assist us in the training and improving of skill levels of our personnel.”
John Fielding is an SEFD volunteer.