CAROL DAVIS
Carol Davis, nurse, John C Fremont Hospital Board member and wife of
Mariposa County Supervisor Herb Davis, served this community in a
number of ways not explored. She was the office nurse for Dr. Robert
Evans when I first knew her. Well respected as a health care
provider, she extended that service serving for many years on the
Board of John C. Fremont Hospital. Times have never been easy for
our hospital. Small hospitals in communities larger than our have
not survived, and yet, through the efforts of many people over the
years, including Drs Evans, Nichols and Dahlem, as well as many in
the community, this hospital, opened in 1950, survives. In the early
days the physicians gave of their time at the hospital at no expense
to the institution. It was after Medicare's beginning in the middle
l960's, that difficulties began to arise.
Carol's service on the board, often as President, was strictly a
labor of love.
In the early l980's it was decided that the hospital could no longer
subsidize the ambulance service. A number of difficulties involving
the age and condition of the equipment, the inability of the hospital
to replace old or poorly equipped ambulances, as well as the need for
better service through out the county, caused Mariposa County to take
over responsibility for the ambulance service. Ambulance standards
such as equipment, response times, and staffing all placed greater
demands on the hospital. Ambulances in service in the county had
been purchased through grants and donations. It became impossible
for the hospital to continue. Some of us on the Board of Supervisors
worked with Carol and Dr. Mosher to solve the problem for the entire
county. The answer was to acquire a professional ambulance service
and create a county fund to assist in its operation. First Riggs
Ambulance of Merced provided the service, to be followed by Mercy
Ambulance which now has the contract. Prior to 1980, my last year
working at the hospital, old and used equipment was the service
level. Volunteer drivers often had to be called into the hospital
from more than twenty minutes away. Many employees at the hospital
and Sheriff Deputies rode the ambulance. Mark Rowney and Rod Sinclair
took many of the calls. Grants and donations brought a new ambulance
to the hospital through the work of the Mariposa Lions Club. None of
this pleased a true professional like Carol and she worked to change
the system. The financial condition of the hospital did not offer
subsidization of the ambulance service. Thus the appeal for help to
the county.
Today we have advanced professional medical transport. This did not
happen by accident. The presence of this service as well as medical
aid training and higher professionalism within the emergency medical
system is the legacy of two people. Carol Davis and Dr. Charles
Mosher, now our County Health Officer. Both should be honored for
their life of service to our community. Carol's dedication to her
profession, her love of the Midpines community, the many friends that
she made, all stand in testament to a life well spent.
To learn much more about Mariposa County along with
historical photos:
A signed copy of "Images of America" - Mariposa County,
By Leroy Radanovich can be purchased at his web site:
Radanovich Galleria & Books
This is a early day photo of the Mariposa Mine in
Mariposa County
that is mentioned in the article to
the left by Mr. Radanovich.
This photo and others can be purchased in various sizes.
All prints are archivally printed on fiber based paper, given a selenium wash which renders the photographs permanent with a
warm tone ready for framing
Radanovich Galleria & Books
Mariposa in 1920
This photo and others can be purchased in various sizes.
All prints are archivally printed on fiber based paper, given a selenium wash which renders the photographs permanent with a
warm tone ready for framing
Radanovich Galleria & Books
Mariposa County Courthouse written by Leroy Radanovich and
Scott Pinkerton is a book about the oldest courthouse in California that is still in use today.
The book is signed by Leroy Radanovich.
To purchase the book:
Radanovich Galleria & Books
Mariposa in 1860
This photo and others can be purchased in various sizes.
All prints are archivally printed on fiber based paper, given a selenium wash which renders the photographs permanent with a
warm tone ready for framing
Radanovich Galleria & Books