Grossmont Healthcare District provides medical equipment for volunteer firefighters

The Grossmont Healthcare District (GHD) board of directors, a public agency that supports various health-related community programs and services in San Diego’s East County, has unanimously approved a $25,000 grant to the non-profit San Diego Regional Fire & Emergency Services Foundation for supplies and equipment to be used during medical emergencies and rescues by volunteer fire departments serving rural East County communities, including Dehesa, Dulzura, Harbison Canyon, Jacumba, Lee Valley, Portrero and Mt. Laguna. The supplies and equipment include new ropes to replace frayed and worn out ropes, along with new pulleys, anchors, brakes and harnesses, for rescues in canyons over steep embankments, as well as medical supplies, such as slings and stretchers, to treat trauma victims. The GHD grant will help satisfy unmet needs that cannot be met with funding from other sources, said Gloria Chadwick, 2010 GHD board president. The tax-supported District is governed by a five-member board of directors, each elected to four-year terms, who represent 500,000 people residing within the District's 750 square miles in San Diego's East County. For more information about GHD, visit www.grossmonthealthcare.org.