Illegal Health Care Crackdown

The filing of charges in the death of an 18-month-old girl who was treated at a back-room medical clinic in Tustin again has focused needed attention on the danger of drugs dispensed in such shops and on self-proclaimed medical practitioners.

Selene Segura Rios died in February after being injected with a prescription drug in the back of a strip-mall gift shop. The Orange County coroner’s office ruled the toddler died of acute dehydration soon afterward, but her death was not directly related to the treatment she received in the clinic. Still, police say if the girl had received appropriate medical attention, she would not have died.

The clinic where the young girl was treated was operated by Laura Escalante, who is believed to have fled to Mexico. Last month, prosecutors issued a warrant for Escalante’s arrest. She has been charged with involuntary manslaughter, child endangerment and unauthorized practice of medicine.

Even if it is uncertain whether Escalante will return to face the charges any time soon, initiating the prosecution is important because it indicates that authorities are treating the toddler’s death seriously and will continue to crack down on unauthorized clinics.

Police say Escalante was known as “Dr. Laura,” and Selene Segura Rios’ parents took her to the clinic because they believed their daughter would receive appropriate medical care. Otherwise, they would have taken her to a physician or to the hospital near their house. After the toddler’s condition worsened, her parents did take her to the hospital, where she died.

Last year, a 13-month-old Santa Ana boy died after being taken to another clinic. Prosecutors filed involuntary manslaughter charges in that case against a man who they say posed as a physician but he too allegedly fled the country.

The deaths prompted the county to form a Safe Healthcare Coalition to educate residents about the perils of back-room clinics. A public information campaign is especially needed in areas with large numbers of immigrants from Mexico, where small clinics are common and injections by health care workers for all manner of maladies are the norm.

A long-standing problem in Southern California has been the smuggling from Mexico of pharmaceuticals that are legal in that country but illegal in the United States.

In June, Costa Mesa police swept through a swap meet, searching for vendors illegally selling prescription drugs. Six vendors were cited on misdemeanor charges. Police vowed to continue such raids.

Cracking down on clinics and dispensers of illegal drugs in this country is warranted. Also needed are easily accessible licensed clinics with Spanish-speaking medical professionals who understand the culture of the immigrants and can explain how medicine is practiced in this country.