INDIAN RIVER COUNTY

Indian River County is located on Florida's Treasure Coast. Vero Beach the major city is about an hour south of the Kennedy Space Center and an hour north of Palm Beach. Indian River County incorporates 511 square miles, with 12 square miles within the city limits of Vero Beach. Indian River County has 23 beautiful miles of Atlantic Ocean beaches. Agricultural acreage is approximately 327,000 in the county, with the largest percentage in pastures and ranges, followed by citrus acreage, forest and woodlands, row crops and miscellaneous. The average annual temperature is 73.4 degrees F. Average for June, July. August and September is 80.7 degrees. Average for months of December, January, February and March is 65.8 degrees.Vero hosts the Los Angeles Dodgers during spring training, houses two museums, the Prince of Wales Cup polo match and more than a dozen parks. Indian River County has continued to experience steady growth. The 1998 population was 107,506. Seventeen percent of the population is below 150 percent of the federal poverty level. In the past year alone Vero has seen aggressive downtown redevelopment, a new bridge spanning the Indian River and a new outlet mall. In the near future Indian River County will see several new chain restaurants, another mall and a larger employment base thanks to growing businesses such as Disney Resorts, XL Vision, Orchid Isle Systems and Piper Aircraft. According to the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, in 1998, Indian River County had 244 medical doctors, 15 osteopathic physicians, 66 dentists, and 1,121 registered nurses actively licensed.

Status of Volunteer Efforts:

The Indian River County Medical Society and Indian River County Health Department cooperate to provide an active We Care Network.

Click on photo above for full size version.

This program is coordinated at the Indian River County Health Department through the primary care program. The Indian River County Hospital Taxing District provides funding for the coordinator’s salary. A volunteer nurse administers an indigent drug program to provide pharmaceuticals to eligible medically indigent patients.

In addition to services performed at the Indian River County Health Department by volunteer physicians, referrals are also made to private physicians’ offices. Specialty referrals include, but are not limited to, oncology, radiology, ophthalmology, neurology, gynecology, and endocrinology.

The Indian River County Health Department is seeking professional volunteers for the following positions: general practice physicians, specialty physicians of all types, advanced registered nurse practitioners, radiologists, registered nurses, medical social workers, home visitors, and clerical, etc. Contact: Michele Gerchow O'Halloran, Human Resources, Indian River Health Department, 1900 27th Street, 2nd Floor Administration, Vero Beach FL 32960 Voice: 561.770.5410 or Fax: 561.770.5403.