SANTA ANA: Authorities Issue Warning About Walk-In Clinic
Health authorities are telling patients who used a walk-in health clinic in Santa Anna "to seek qualified medical attention" after a two-year-old boy "died following treatment by an apparently unlicensed doctor." The Consultoria Medico caters to "poor and newly arrived Latino Families" according to state health and police officials. Captain Dan McCoy of the Santa Ana Police Department said, "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." The child was taken to the clinic last Tuesday with vomiting and diarrhea, the Los Angeles Times reports. According to the boy's father, Salvador Martinez, he "was given five injections over three days, but ... his symptoms continued to worsen" (Ourlian/Cleeland, 4/26). "Martinez said the man who was treating Christopher assured him that the reaction was normal and told him to withhold liquids for four hours after each injection," the Los Angeles Times reports. The boy was found unconscious on Thursday and died after being taken to St. Joseph Hospital. The Times reports that the police are "seeking a clinic employee who acted as a doctor and a second who served as a nurse, both of whom lacked licenses" (Ourlian/Wilson/Cleeland, 4/26).
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