PRESS RELEASE – CCHCI Pediatrician to take 3,000 mile Motorcycle Ride for Charity
BISBEE, AZ (August 5, 2016) – Zachary Patterson, MD is a resident of Bisbee, AZ and pediatrician for Chiricahua Community Health Centers, Inc. (CCHCI) and in one week he will be putting his motorcycle riding skills to the test. On August 13, 2016 he will embark on a journey on his motorcycle from Bisbee, AZ to Seattle, WA and back in order to raise money for the Children’s Health Fund. He expects to be back in Bisbee by August 28. Dr. Patterson is a native of Toronto, Canada and has been practicing medicine in Cochise County since January 2015. He chose to practice medicine here because he said, “I always knew I wanted to practice medicine in an area and to a population that was underserved.”
He was inspired by the documentary “Long Way Round”, the story of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman who went on an epic 20,000 mile motorcycle ride circumnavigating the globe beginning in London and ending in New York City in 115 days. Along the way they had raised money for UNICEF and brought awareness to vital UNICEF projects.
Dr. Patterson hopes to raise awareness of the need for medical care to children in the rural and underserved areas of the western areas of our country. He felt he could do some good by replicating the journey, on a slightly smaller scale. He plans to take the 3,000 mile trip on only the back roads, through some of the areas served by the Children’s Health Fund. He said, “My interest in medicine is centered on having the ability to provide care to those who really need it and may not have access to quality care. The Children’s Health Fund helps to provide care to those in underserved areas.”
Paul Simon and Irwin Redlener, MD founded Children’s Health Fund in 1987 after touring the Martinique Hotel, a shelter for homeless families in New York City, and witnessing the conditions under which homeless children lived. The New York Children’s Health Project launched with one “big blue bus,” a state-of-the-art mobile medical clinic that would bring care directly to those children with the least access. Over the years, Children’s Health Fund has replicated this approach across the country. Today, the National Network provides care through 25 innovative pediatric care programs and affiliates that serve children in poor rural and urban communities across the country.
Chiricahua Community Health Centers Inc. (CCHCI) was provided a big blue bus of their own from the Children’s Health Fund in 2008 and has continued as a pediatric care partner from that time forward. CCHCI is able to provide care to the most vulnerable populations in Cochise County through the use of the Mobile Medical Units.
Darlene Melk, MD, Director of Community Pediatrics for CCHCI and Medical Director of the Southern Arizona Children’s Health Project said, “When Dr. Patterson told me that he wanted to take a 3,000 mile motorcycle ride through the back roads of our western states all to benefit Children’s Health Fund; I felt very impressed, excited and proud. He is the first pediatrician in the history of Chiricahua and Children’s Health Fund to ever do this kind of fundraising. He is truly going beyond the call of duty by doing this!”
Mobile clinic medicine is a unique way to deliver healthcare. As state-of-the-art, full-service clinics-on-wheels, the Mobile Medical Units go to wherever they are needed most. Dr. Melk said, “As you can imagine, practicing medicine on wheels has its challenges. It requires that staff be flexible, mission driven and often creative. Since joining our mobile team in January of 2016, Dr. Zachary Patterson has been all of that and more. Besides being an excellent pediatrician at our fixed site clinic in Douglas, he has demonstrated that he is willing to go out into the field and see the adolescents in our community right in their very own high school.”
The CCHCI mobile units will begin providing medical services at four Cochise County high schools this school year. With parental permission, students will be able to be seen on the mobile medical units at their high schools on certain days of the week, receiving the same level of care that is provided at a clinic.
Dr. Patterson said he has some anxieties about the trip. The longest ride he has ever taken is 250 miles. This trip will be over 3,000 miles. He is sure this journey will push him physically and mentally, but feels up to the challenge. He will be riding his Yamaha SR4000 and had to make several modifications in order to have it ready for the ride. He has installed a windscreen, a luggage rack and 3 hard rain-proof cases. He also installed a USB connector on the bike so his phone could be charged.
In order to support Dr. Patterson’s cause to raise funds for the Children’s Health Fund, please visit https://donate.childrenshealthfund.org/fundraise?fcid=721268 . Keep updated on the journey between August 13 and August 28 on the CCHCI Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/chiricahuacommunityhealthcenters .
Chiricahua Community Health Centers, Inc. is a mission-driven Federally Qualified Health Center and is a tax exempt not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. It was founded as a grassroots community effort in 1996 as a makeshift clinic in Elfrida’s small community center and has since grown to be the largest primary care organization in southeastern Arizona. Chiricahua Community Health Centers currently has seven clinics in Bisbee, Douglas, Elfrida and Sierra Vista and three mobile medical units that serve Cochise County.
For additional information please contact Sarah Pacheco, Public Relations and Media Specialist for Chiricahua Community Health Centers, Inc. spacheco@cchci.org 520-459-3012 ext 7525.