Charlie Ridaura, a registered nurse at El Centro Regional Medical Center, is pictured in the hospital’s E.R. Ridaura shared his experience of serving as an emergency room nurse during the COVID-19 pandemic for this Community Spotlight feature.
Photo provided by ECRMC.

You could say that for much of Charlie Ridaura’s life, he’s known he wanted to work in the medical field. His older brother is a paramedic, and Ridaura first planned to follow in his brothers’ footsteps by becoming a firefighter.

But the Calexico, California native changed his path while working as an emergency medical technician at El Centro Regional Medical Center.

“I started to like working in the hospital,” he said. “I was exposed to what nurses do, and I decided this is where I wanted to be.”

Today, the 28-year-old, who holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Grand Canyon University, is coming off the hardest year of

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Imperial County Agricultural Commissioner Carlos Ortiz (right) delivers face mask to an agricultural company in the Imperial Valley. Since May, the County Ag Commissioner’s Office has led the distribution of more than half a million masks to the ag community as part of a coordinated statewide effort.
Photo Courtesy of Imperial County

With agriculture recognized as an essential service, the Imperial County Agricultural Commissioner’s Office has taken the lead in distributing more than half a million face masks to all sectors of the agricultural industry in the Valley since May and the efforts to provide the masks are continuing.

“This
was a positive result of the state understanding our need,” said Imperial
County Agricultural Commissioner Carlos Ortiz. “They heard us.”

The
distribution of face masks to the ag community was part of a joint statewide
effort of the California Agricultural Commissioners and Sealers Association
together with the California Department of Food and Agriculture and the
Department

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Pictured are from right to left Tracy Rascoe, Bob Candland and J. Rollins, the three members of the American Legion Boyce Aten Post 25 Disaster Preparedness Response Team. The committee of the El Centro-area American Legion Post has been working to help the community through programs targeting the COVID-19 pandemic and most recently has provided help to victims of the June 28 wildfire in Niland, along with posts throughout the Valley. In this photo, the three are pictured with the materials used for their campaign to prepare face masks for essential workers. Photo courtesy of Post 25.

When in the military, soldiers swear an oath to defend their
country, and they rely on each other through the toughest of times to live up
to that oath. When they return home to their communities, that oath doesn’t
just end—nor does the knowledge of what it takes to work together to get through
the most

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