CLINIC DEATH: Times Calls For Greater Oversight, Parental Involvement

      An editorial in the Los Angeles Times says that the "shocking death last month of a 13-month-old boy three days after being brought with flu-like symptoms to a Santa Ana clinic has prompted a needed review of area facilities by local authorities." The Times notes that there are many such storefront "facilities in strip malls and older buildings in Santa Ana, where there are many poor immigrants" who are "ready victims of fraudulent clinics because they are afraid that they will be deported if they go elsewhere." These clinics also serve as a convenient alternative to crowded public health clinics and expensive emergency rooms. With the state Medical Board saying it "lacks the manpower to police these clinics sufficiently," and the city saying it "only issues a business license," the Times contends that "[c]learly, there is a gap in oversight." The paper notes that the "questions is whether there are more such tragedies waiting to happen," saying that "there is no substitute for better oversight in general, and spot checking of specific clinics." However, "[p]arents can also check on doctors to see if the have any disciplinary complaints against them. ... To prevent tragedy, doing homework and using common sense go a long way (5/18).