800 Vaccinated At Duroville Swine Flu Clinic

THERMAL – Doctors and nurses went into one of the Desert’s most impoverished neighborhoods to take on the swine flu.

The residents of Desert Mobile Home Park on Pierce Street, better known as “Duroville” are some of the poorest in the Desert. Duroville’s days are numbered. A federal judge deciding there are just too many health hazards to keep this place open.

Entire families lined up, hoping to get some of the 800 swine flu vaccines that just arrived.

One mother tells us in Spanish, “It’s important because you can see a lot of people dying because of this.”

Clinic organizers say there are nearly 2000 people who live in 267 trailers in Duroville.

Nurse Shaynie Lentz adds, “There’s a lot of trailers out here, just parked next to each other and they don’t have any money. This is a really good opportunity to help them and prevent sickness. They’re so tight, if a flu came through here, it would just spread from one person to the next.”

A virus here could quickly infect enough people to spread it all around the East Valley, where these residents work and shop.

Martha’s Village and Kitchen clinic use is up 40 percent this year. Their cash donations are down 40 percent. They came here anyway to confront the Swine Flu head on.

Martha’s Village Assistant Medical Director Dr. Michael Kim explains, “A lot of the places you actually have to go to. That means you have to have a car. You have to know someone who has a car. You have to get off work. These people don’t have transportation. The live, multiple families together. We thought if we came to them, that would take away a barrier from preventing people who need it just like you and I from getting the H1N1 and keeping their families healthy.”

To help Martha’s Village and Kitchen with cash donations for their health clinics or toy donations for their Coachella Valley charities, call their main number at 760-574-4372.