Page 36 - summer book

WHAT IS YOUR EMERGANCY
by Chantal Leipsig
I read somewhere that you can call 911 in Mexico. I was
never not quite sure about this until it happened to me. I
was hosting some Canadian friends at our guest house at
El Dorado Ranch, when I got a frantic call from the husband
of my friend.”We have a problem; Sandra has collapsed on
the bathroom floor and I put in a call to 911” I put the phone
down and went straight into panic mode! We needed to get
an ambulance! What if 911 does not work here. Did 911
speak English? Where is the piece of paper with all the
emergency numbers! Pete’s camp, Dr Israel and all the others. Of course, when you’re in
panic mode you can’t find it! I finally called EDR security. They told me that the police had
contacted them already, and that the ambulance was on its way and one of the security
guards would escort the ambulance to the address which, if you are not familiar with El
Dorado, can be a daunting task. Seconds later we saw the ambulance, a police car and the
security guard all racing to the house. Wow! I guess 911 does work! They brought her to
Baja Medical Clinic where she received great care. But she needed to have a higher level
of medial attention not available in San Felipe. We contacted Dr. Israel, and he transported
her and her husband to Mexicali where she was stabilized, After several day she was flown
back to Canada for further medical attention.
The good news is San Felipe just got it’s own 911 emergency system, and you will be able
to reach the police, fire dept. or ambulance. Most important, they have English speaking
operators. The process is; the 911 operator receives the call, she contacts the municipal
police department where they dispatch the required service need. If you live in El Dorado
Ranch the police will also contact the security office to alert them and have an escort to
the address. The Red Cross- (686-577-1182), ambulances will transport you to Centro
de Salud or Baja Medical Center. The Fire Department (Bomberos) (686-577-1182) also
provide ambulance service.
There are several private medical facilities in San Felipe;
OMD - an Independent Emergency Services (686-198-7498), located in Pete’s Camp, it
offers fire and ambulance service through a membership subscription. It’s is primarily for
residents of Pete’s Camp HOA, but membership is also available to non residents.
Baja Medical Clinic- (686-576-0200) - has no ambulance service but is available 24/7.
BMC’s services are primarily offered to El Dorado Residents but are available to all.
Dr Israel’s Hospital - (686-351-3295) - Under the direction of Dr. Israel Jimenez, it has an
ambulance and he will travel with the patient if care is needed. His hospital offers a variety
of services.
Since San Felipe’s Medical services is still growing, your medical need may not be met at
the local facilities. Both OMD & Dr Isreal offer ambulance service that will transport you to
Mexicali or to the border to be transfered to US ambulance for hospitals care.

Important: The transportation to out of town facilities has a fee, please check with
the carrier, in some case it may require a cash payment up front.