4,800 pounds of trash picked up by Olympic Ambulance volunteers in Clallam County

Sequim’s Olympic Ambulance has been increasingly proactive and involved in thoughtful, ongoing patient care on a level that is very rarely seen from the emergency medical services in our state and country.

Joey Rodrigues, Director of Operations for Olympic Ambulance’s Clallam County branch, reached out to Northwest Hospitality Director, Anton Preisinger, with a proposal to serve one of his patients with a serious, unique need that threatened not only his health and well-being but his housing status and security.

The patient, having recently endured some new health challenges, now requires home healthcare services and some other assistance with daily life. Unfortunately, these services were severely hindered by the condition of the patient’s home. Some providers were not even willing or able to enter the home because of a mess that had built up due to ailing health and increased struggles with self-sufficiency.

Northwest Hospitality was pleased to have the opportunity to share our resources to help this patient regain control of their home and access these life-saving services.

Olympic Ambulance easily found eager volunteers among their staff and, with equipment and support from Northwest Hospitality, they removed an estimated 350 bags, roughly 4,800 pounds, of material from the house with the patient’s guidance.

Thanks to the efforts of Olympic Ambulance, Northwest Hospitality, and caring EMS providers/volunteers who refuse to accept intolerable circumstances for their patients just because it’s “not their job,” this patient has a clean, livable home to recover in and enjoy, access to appropriate healthcare, and support from a system growing to meet unique needs like this quickly, flexibly, and efficiently.

In 2019
Northwest Hospitality has worked with 78 unique volunteers at 22 cleanup events to dispose of
23,342 pounds of trash

Thank you to Sequim’s Westside Pizza for donating lunch to our dedicated volunteers!