WINTER RANCH ACTIVITIES: 1st RESPONDERS and EMERGENCY INFO

(Updated 3/28/15)

Our 1st Responders are the best! Rita wanted to share this national commercial that features our own Karla Arrasmith after her partial knee replacement surgery at the Dr. Raul Marquez Robotic Orthopedic Institute in Edinburg, Texas:

And this commercial features some of our own
Winter Ranchers who have had knee surgery here
in the Valley at the same institute:

We Winter Ranchers love our 1st Responders. You can tell by the response to any of their fund raisers. Take a look at the crowd for their annual Fund Raiser Dinner.

For Emergency Assistance:

For assistance from the 1^st Responders, call 956-259-3636. This is the automated pager system. A recorded message will tell you that you have reached the Winter Ranch 1st Responder Pager system. It will ask you to calmly punch in your lot or location number after the tone and then hang up. As this is a digital number system, you must punch in a number so we can find you. This is not an answering machine. If you talk we have no way to contact you as it displays a blank pager screen with the alert sound. You must punch in your lot or location number.

If a medical emergency is not at your lot but in a public building, there are red laminated signs posted near the building exits. These signs have the emergency phone number and also list the Emergency location number for the building you are in ranging from 1000-1006.

Ambulance Services:

Pro-medic ambulance service is the closest ambulance service to our park. The number is 956-782-5572. The 1st Responders know that by calling ProMedic Ambulance directly, we get much faster service then when we call 911. This is because there are numerous ambulance services within Hidalgo County. All fire, police and other emergency calls for the whole county are handled by the 911 system. In the past when 911 was called, ambulances came from Mission and Weslaco which takes longer than Pro-Medic.

Our 1st Responders include:

The medical team: Rita Huether, Judy Miller, Judy Foley, Maggie Smith, Jean Holmquist, Diana Drake , Sue Ende, Janet Hobson and Gary Schnau.

The outside support team: Lee Miska, Roger Wheeler, LaVere Groth, Herb Holmquist, Jim Drake, Sam Hobson, Joe Miller and Arnie Huether.

The Backup and vacation team: Vickie and Dick Miller and Rosie Dorsey

The Winter Ranch Team of 1st Responders re-certified in American Heart Association: CPR and on the Defibrillator. They have attended medical seminars and toured medical facilities.

A few reminders from Rita:

To call the 1^st Responders, please dial the number listed on your red envelope or the stickers on the back of your badge and follow the instructions. The 1^st Responders work as a team. Everyone has a job to do and they don’t know if they will need extra people to help lift, collect the ambulance at the gate, arrange pet care and a multitude of things. Often they will drive your auto to the hospital. They prefer that the patient and spouse both depart with the ambulance for the hospital. Usually the spouse is not of a mind to drive and we want to make sure they arrive at the same hospital safely and at the same time.

Please complete your Medical information and put it in the red envelope which should attached to your refrigerator. Having your medical information makes the ambulance and ED people much more efficient in treating you effectively. If you are unconscious you can't answer questions. It is important to have this updated and in place shortly after you return each season.

Please realize that 1st Responders do not share information due to HIPA laws concerning patient confidentiality. When the family is ready to share information with friends, you will know and hear correct information. It is better not to guess or promote rumors concerning the patient when tests are not completed and the prognosis is unknown.

***************************************
Mission Statement:

The Mission of the Volunteer Winter Ranch 1^st Responders is to support the medical emergency needs of our residents until further medical service is rendered (Ambulance, ER, Urgent Care or Doctors Office).

Goals:

1^st Responders will:

Maintain the highest standards of ethical conduct.

Respect and maintain the privacy of residents and abide by all HIPA and Good Samaritan requirements.
Provide CPR, AED (Automated External Defibrillator), Heimlich maneuver and First Aid training and/or certification for each of the volunteers.

Objectives:

1^st Responders will:

Respond to emergency calls from residents and provide medical assistance, as appropriate, prior to the arrival of Paramedics/EMT with the ambulance service or seeking further medical attention beyond the park.

Assist the ambulance in quickly locating the site of emergency and patient.

Assist patient/spouse for departure to a medical facility.

Secure the residence, including pet care and transportation accommodations.

Provide notification of friends/family upon request.

Funding:

Is separate from the General and Activity Funds in the park.

Comes from an Annual fundraiser event and 50/50 ticket sales.

Donations are accepted from individuals or organizations to cover the costs of medical equipment, pagers, training and supplies.

*********************************

Person in Charge:

Rita Huether is in charge of the 1st Responder volunteers and the program at Winter Ranch.

General Information:

When residents check-in to our park at the office, they receive Hot Pink Stickers, Red Envelopes and Medical Emergency Information sheets with the park welcome packet of information.

The pink stickers have telephone numbers for the 1st Responders and ambulance service. These should be placed on the back of your park name badge for quick reference.
The emergency medical forms need to be completed and placed inside the red envelope attached to your fridge in preparation for an emergency.
Often emergencies happen when you first arrive, so we encourage people to please take the time to do this to ensure information is available to best assist in your care. Year round residents and those missing any items may pick them up in the office.
Check out the Medical bulletin board in the hall for upcoming medical seminars and information pertaining to specific medical needs as well as cancer support groups in our community.
Further questions may be directed to Rita or the office has the contact information for her.

*******************************

Cathy's Closet in the Business Office holds medical equipment for the use of residents as needed.

This is a list of items residents can borrow/use from the closet: