T welve years ago, an old suburban served as the ambulance of Marathon, population 700, located near Big Bend National Park. As they braved the half-hour ride to the nearest medical help, volunteer paramedics would brace oxygen bottles between their legs and try to stabilize their rickety stretcher and a banana box filled with expired supplies.

"We were truly a load-and-go service," says EMS director Shirley Williams. "People would show up at my house at 2 AM. We'd throw them in the back of the truck and hightail it to a hospital about 30 miles away."

A lot has changed in Marathon since community leaders contacted the TEES Center for Community Support (CCS). With the help of CCS grant writers and a strategic partnership with the Pecos County Memorial Hospital, Marathon became the recipient of a Rural Health Outreach Grant, a three-year grant for over half a million dollars.

That money funded renovations for a clinic, paid for part-time medical personnel, and bought much-needed equipment, including a defibrillator and a new stretcher for the ambulance. "Any private physician would be proud to have a clinic like this," says Dr. Jim Luecke, who looks forward to his biweekly visits to the clinic.

What makes the Marathon clinic unique, according to COPC Director Beverly Parks of the Pecos County Memorial Hospital, is its tremendous community support. Patients care for the lawn, do repairs on the building, and volunteer to help with health education. Additionally, the town pours out to support fund-raisers, such

"It's heartwarming that the community has stayed behind this, says Luecke. "The people here really value the clinic. I like working here because people are so grateful for medical care."

For residents, having a clinic in town not only helps in times of emergency, but allows them to deal with medical problems before they become an emergency.