Toddler’s Death Triggers Warning About Clinic

A Santa Ana toddler died following treatment by an apparently unlicensed doctor at a walk-in clinic catering to poor and newly arriving Latino families, police investigators and state medical officials said Saturday.

In the wake of the death, authorities are urging other patients who used the Consultorio Medico of Santa Ana on West 1st Street to seek qualified medical attention.

“It’s critical that those under care right now for a serious illness who have had treatment at that location go to a licensed physician to make sure they are getting proper medical treatment,” said Capt. Dan McCoy of the Santa Ana Police Department.

The father of 2-year-old Christopher Martinez said he and his wife first took their son to the clinic Tuesday morning with flu-like symptoms that included vomiting and diarrhea. Salvador Martinez said Christopher was given five injections over three days, but that his symptoms continued to worsen.

Martinez said Gamaliel Moreno, who was treating Christopher, assured him the boy’s reaction was normal, and told him to ignore his pleas for water. Moreno told him to withhold liquids for four hours after each injection, Martinez said.

“I thought it was strange, but I had faith in the doctor,” said Martinez, speaking from the doorway of his Santa Ana apartment, about a mile from the clinic. The father appeared weak and despondent, and his eyes were rimmed with tears. Christopher was his only child, he said.

Martinez said as his son’s condition worsened, he and his wife, Alicia Ortiz, paged Moreno repeatedly, once at 3 a.m. After each conversation, he said, he was told to bring Christopher back to the clinic for another injection. He said he didn’t know what was being injected.

A bottle of pills that Moreno also prescribed was taken by police investigators for analysis, he said.

Martinez said he was planning to take Christopher to a hospital Thursday afternoon, but when he checked on his son, he was unconscious.

About 3:45 p.m., paramedics were summoned to the Martinez house, but by then, the boy was not breathing, officials said.

He was taken to St. Joseph Hospital in Orange, where he died.

The Orange County coroner’s office had not named the cause of death on Saturday and was continuing to investigate.

Martinez said Moreno told him he was a doctor and had been trained in medicine in Michoacan, Mexico. The clinic, which was open seven days a week and offered low-cost care for those without insurance, had been recommended by a co-worker, said Martinez, who is a machinist.

But according to police, one clinic employee who acted as a doctor and a second serving as a nurse were not licensed and may have had limited medical backgrounds, if any.

Police Chief Paul M. Walters said the city has fought illegal clinics and unlicensed doctors in the past. “It’s so easy for the unsuspecting to be victimized,” Walters said. “Fortunately, it’s not always tragic.”

It is a misdemeanor to provide medical treatment without a license, McCoy said. If injury or death results from the treatment, it is prosecuted as a felony.

Police are seeking Moreno and a second individual who apparently acted as a nurse, McCoy said.

McCoy said investigators questioned the parents and traced the boy’s treatment back to the storefront clinic bearing painted letters spelling the name Consultorio Medico.

The clinic, in a small strip mall, is apparently one of several that have similar names, but police said the businesses are not affiliated. The owner of a neighboring business said the clinic had been in operation for about a year.

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On Friday, police and officials with the Medical Board of California went to the clinic and removed several boxes of medicine and medical records. Police said it appeared some of the medicine was produced outside the United States.

Patient records were among those seized by police and medical board officials Friday. But because of doctor-patient confidentiality rules, investigators may examine the information only under supervision of a court officer appointed by a judge.

Even though the clinic personnel were not licensed, patients may have given medical information as though they were and must have protection of confidentiality laws, McCoy said.

Some storefront clinics cater to patients who do not have regular doctors or insurance plans, setting up payment schedules and cash fees. However, reputable clinics with similar payment schedules also are available, officials said.

“There are plenty of facilities they can go to that are licensed, or that are affiliated with UCI Medical Center and St. Joseph that have programs based on ability to pay,” Walters said. “It’s unfortunate that people would end up with someone unlicensed like that.”

Investigators said they could not imagine more unsuspecting victims than parents with sick children.

“These are totally innocent victims who think they are going to professionals who have the licenses, training and expertise to handle these medical situations,” said McCoy.

“These people are preying on a segment of the community that doesn’t have regular family doctors and instead go to these walk-in clinics when they get sick. And they do expect to see real doctors.”

Martinez said a wake is planned for Monday from 4 to 9 p.m. at McDougall Family Mortuary.

Times staff writer Janet Wilson contributed to this report.