Sick Baby’s Death a ‘Needless Tragedy’

The death last week of a toddler treated by a man allegedly impersonating a physician at a Santa Ana storefront clinic was “an absolutely needless tragedy,” the director of a community clinics organization said Monday.

“There are licensed clinics that are free or low cost and right there in the Santa Ana area,” said Mary Earlabaugh Gordon, executive director of the Coalition of Orange County Community Clinics. “The mission of the clinics is to provide access to care to people who otherwise couldn’t afford it. That’s why this was such a needless tragedy.”

Thirteen-month-old Christopher Martinez died Thursday after repeated treatments for a flu-like illness at Consultorio Medico of Santa Ana. His parents took him to the strip-mall clinic seeking low-cost care because they were uninsured.

His parents said Christopher, who had severe diarrhea and was vomiting, was given five injections over three days by Gamaliel Moreno, whom the boy’s parents believed was a doctor. State medical authorities, however, say he is not a licensed physician.

Santa Ana police on Monday continued to look for Moreno, who is wanted only for questioning at this point, they said. An autopsy has yet to determine the cause of Christopher’s death, and the coroner’s office has ordered toxicological and other tests, the results of which might not be available for weeks.

Consultorio Medico remained locked Monday.

Santa Ana police and officials from the Medical Board of California searched the office Friday, removing documents and other evidence. Felix Rodriguez, supervising investigator at the medical board’s Tustin office, said the facility was empty but unlocked when they arrived, and police locked it when they left.

Moreno’s partner at the clinic, Rafael Gamay--who also is not licensed to practice medicine--has been questioned by police, authorities said.

Rodriguez said the clinic was housed in a small office space, with sparse medical equipment. Drugs were labeled in Spanish, and he saw no certificates or diplomas on the walls. “It was a very suspicious type of thing,” he said.

The area where the clinic is located, near 1st and Fairview streets, has many storefront-type medical offices with Spanish-language signs. Christopher’s father has said the family was referred by a co-worker to Consultorio Medico, which reportedly offered low-cost care to the uninsured.

But people needing a doctor can receive even lower-cost care through the county’s network of community clinics, operated by nonprofit agencies, said clinic coalition director Gordon. What’s more, community clinics must be licensed by the state and staffed only by licensed medical personnel, she said.

Privately run clinics and medical offices are not licensed, but their names must be registered by their licensed physician-owners with the Medical Board of California.

Consultorio Medico was not registered, a medical board official said.

The baby’s father, Salvador Martinez, has said Moreno told him he was a doctor and had been trained in medicine in Michoacan, Mexico. But there is no medical school in Michoacan, and Mexican authorities could not say Monday whether Moreno had received medical education anywhere in that country.

Gordon said patients are seen for free or charged on a scale according to their ability to pay at community clinics. Oftentimes, children qualify for Medi-Cal coverage, even if the parents do not, she said.

Gordon and others said illegal immigrants had no need to fear that their status would be reported to immigration authorities if they seek treatment at any of the community clinics.

“We don’t even ask about that,” said Rosa Kelson, director of Clinica CHOC Para Ninos, in downtown Santa Ana. “We are on a mission to take care of the children, that is all.”

“I don’t work for the immigration service,” said Dr. Thomas Bent, director at the UCI Family Health Center, which also is in downtown Santa Ana.

Kelson said low-income Latino residents might be drawn to the private clinics with Spanish names and Spanish-speaking staff through word-of-mouth, advertising and their presence in the neighborhood.

“And if [patients] don’t know the system, they figure a clinic is a clinic is a clinic,” not realizing that quality of care can be different, she said.

Sometimes, she said, parents expect a CHOC clinic doctor to provide medicine for a baby’s cold, which actually requires only fluids and rest. Staff members try to educate parents about proper care for common viral infections and about the need to prevent dehydration in their sick children.

But Kelson has heard of dissatisfied parents later taking their child to a private clinic and paying for a shot that was not needed.

In the Martinez baby case, Moreno reportedly gave Christopher a shot last Tuesday when the parents first took their son to the storefront clinic. Moreno also reportedly told the parents not to give the baby any water for four hours, regardless of how thirsty he was.

Officials at other clinics said Monday that advice should have raised red flags, because sick babies must not be allowed to become dehydrated. Parents are routinely told to encourage their babies to take fluids.

As Christopher’s condition worsened, his parents returned to the clinic, where the baby received more shots and they were given assurances that their son was doing well. The mother, Alicia Ortiz, even once paged Moreno at 3 a.m. out of worry, the boy’s father said. Christopher stopped breathing at home on Thursday and was rushed to St. Joseph Hospital, where he died.

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Where to Go for Help

Here is a list of community clinics that provide low-cost or free medical treatment:

Anaheim

UCI Family Health Center

300 W. Romneya Drive

(714) 774-9795

Costa Mesa

Share Our Selves Free Clinic

1550 Superior Ave.

(949) 650-0640 or 650-5180

Fullerton

Sierra Health Center

1815 West Ave., Suite E-G

(714) 870-0717

St. Jude Medical Center

Mobile Health Center

101 E. Valencia Mesa Drive

(714) 446-7085 or 446-7084

Garden Grove

Nhan Hoa Comprehensive Health Care Clinic

14221 Euclid Ave., Suite I

(714) 539-9999

Huntington Beach

Huntington Beach Community Clinic

8041 Newman Ave.

(714) 847-4222

Laguna Beach

Laguna Beach Community Clinic

362 3rd St.

(949) 494-0761

La Habra

Gary Center

341 S. Hillcrest St.

(714) 870-6755

Orange

La Amistad Family Health Center

353 S. Main St.

(714) 771-8006

Lestonnac Clinic

1215 E. Chapman Ave.

(714) 633-4600

San Juan Capistrano

Mission Hospital’s Camino Health Center

33081 Calle Perfecto, Suite A

(949) 240-2272

Santa Ana

Clinica CHOC Para Nin~os

406 S. Main St.

(714) 558-8811

Health Reform Action Project

1515 S. Broadway St., Suite C

(714) 571-3955 or 571-3953

Planned Parenthood

1633 E. 4th St., Suite 184

(714) 973-1727

UCI Family Health Center

800 N. Main St.

(714) 541-6545

Source: Coalition of Orange County Community Clinics