East valley's health crisis spurs summit

Determined to improve health care conditions in the eastern Coachella Valley, a coalition of local leaders said Monday they plan to host a summit to address the crisis outlined in a Desert Sun special report.

Dr. Raul Ruiz, an emergency physician at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, said all stakeholders must develop a strategy to “confront the unacceptable and shameful healthcare conditions.

“The selfless efforts and dedication of the health organizations that have worked tirelessly throughout the years in the face of an enormous need is noteworthy,” he wrote The Desert Sun.

“However, only by the collective action can we improve the health and quality of life for our underserved population. Let us come together as one Coachella Valley in service to one another.”

A Desert Sun report published Sunday found that 20 percent of eastern Coachella Valley residents lack health insurance, and the area is woefully short on doctors.

In Mecca, Oasis and Thermal, there is roughly one doctor for every 3,000 people. By comparison, Palm Springs has one doctor per 193 people.

On Monday, representatives of Eisenhower Medical Center and JFK Memorial Hospital in Indio confirmed they will attend, as well as Assemblyman V. Manuel Pérez, D-Coachella, and Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Palm Springs, if her schedule permits.

Pérez said he also intends to meet with local health officials Friday to identify funding streams, find more doctors to serve the east side of the Coachella Valley and act as a springboard to the January summit.

“This is something very, very close to my heart,” said Pérez, who did not have medical insurance growing up.

“We must work to address challenges hospitals and clinics face in treating those patients who are incapable of paying for their care,” Bono Mack said in a statement.

Carolyn Stark, executive director of the UC Riverside-Palm Desert campus, said the college will host the summit, which could be held as early as January. UC Riverside plans to open a medical school in 2012 that is likely to have a valley component.

Last month, more than 1,200 suffering people lined up for hours to see a charity doctor group that stops in Thermal for a day twice a year.

The group, called the “Flying Doctors,” usually visits Third World countries. The Coachella Valley is its only U.S. stop.

People are suffering in our backyard, and we can't allow it to continue, said Ruiz, who grew up in Coachella.

“This is my mission,” he said. “This is what I went to school for. This is why I came back.”