[Themaintainers] Volunteer medical resources in rural United States strained to limit during pandemic

[Richard Wheeler]

Two recent articles in *The New York Times*:
"Pandemic Wilderness Explorers Are Straining Search and Rescue"
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/07/us/coronavirus-wilderness-search-rescue.html
"Rural Ambulance Crews Have Run Out of Money and Volunteers"
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/25/us/rural-ambulance-coronavirus.html

So many services in the United States rely on volunteer labor, and that
labor is less and less available, and/or it is aging and not being replaced.

As an example, here's a story about a recent rescue in Los Angeles:
"Hiker Rescued After Man Uses Photo to Pinpoint His Location"
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/15/us/missing-hiker-found.html
At least three of the rescuers pictured in the story are volunteers, and
notice something about all of them: they are all grey-haired and not
getting any younger. To join this team, volunteers need to go through an
application and training process that takes *up to three and half years*
and includes half a year of law enforcement training and requires becoming
a part-time law enforcement officer. It's hard to maintain a system with
this kind of staffing model. And there are many systems like this in the
United States that supply critical services.

Mostly just ranting here. Looking for fellow ranters.

Richard Wheeler
richarduwheeler at gmail.com
347.661.8476
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