When the largest fire in New Mexico’s history forced the evacuation of the city of Los Alamos, the UNM Medical Reserve Corps were on the ground to help.
Luke Esquibel, a First Aid instructor at UNM Hospital, said medical volunteers donated more than 500 hours of their time during the first week of the blaze.
He said he helped care for patients with special medical needs like high blood pressure, diabetes and respiratory problems.
“We make sure that livelihood continues when (medical care) comes to a standstill,” he said. “Some folks had time to evacuate, some didn’t. There were folks that needed meds and oxygen.”
Esquibel, a member of a Medical Reserve Corp, a group of volunteers who serve during local emergency situations, said that when he was approached in 2003 about getting involved, the concept of an MRC was brand new.
He said for every medical provider, there are five non-medical volunteers helping to facilitate care.
“It’s the same pattern as a hospital, with that kind of support structure,” Esquibel said.
He said one detachment of ER doctors was assigned to the Los Alamos Medical Center where their expertise was most needed, and other volunteers were dispatched to area shelters, such as the Pena Blanca Community Center and Cities of Gold Casino.
Esquibel said that volunteers helped those affected by the blaze to deal with the emotional toll.
“It may not hit today or tomorrow, but on the third, fourth, or fifth day, you begin to realize what’s happened and what you may have lost,” he said.
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