Emergency Room Volunteer

It saddened me to see that some people do not receive the medical treatments they need. Health care is not available to them because they do not have a health insurance and/or they cannot pay for the service out of pocket. This situation is frequently seen affecting people with low income, the minority group, the homeless, drug addicts and the mentally ill. Due to our economic down turn, this problem is affecting a much larger group because of high unemployment and health insurance is very expensive to purchase on their own. Many hospitals turn away and will not treat the uninsured. By volunteering in an emergency room at the California Hospital, I am able to assist doctors and nurses in helping this unfortunate group of people. This hospital is the primary hospital on skid row in Los Angeles, California that allows anyone, no matter of their immigration status or financial ability, come to get care. The poorest of the poor, the mentally sick and drug addicts live on skid row and California Hospital Medical Center welcomes these men and women to their urgent care and emergency room. Every human being, no matter how little money they have, should be able to receive medical treatments. However, because there a lot of non-paying patients, the hospital is not profitable and has very limited budget. They operate from grants and generous donations from some wealthy people. They can only afford to hire a minimum number of doctors and nurses. By volunteering at this hospital, my goal is to increase the number of patients seen at the ER and to expedite the service on a daily basis.