Community Speaks On The Children’s Hospital
EL PASO, TX.
The following are e-mails from the ABC-7 Viewing audience speaking about the pro’s and con’s of the proposed Children’s Hospital Initiative as well as ABC-7’s coverage of the issue.
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We recently received a letter from a pediatrician named Dr. Ayo, encouraging us to vote against the proposed children’s hospital. This really upset us, being as our family was directly affected by the lack of such a hospital last year.
Our then two-year-old granddaughter, Stevie, was in dire need of open -heart surgery. She had the best pediatric cardiologist ever, Dr. Jeffery Schuster, who provided excellent care for Stevie locally, and to whom we will be eternally grateful.
However, because he is not a surgeon, we had to take her to Dallas Children’s Medical Hospital. Adding to the fear of the seriousness of the situation was the fact that we would be miles away from our much-needed support system — our children, siblings, extended family, and friends when we most needed them.
Our mother had just passed away a month before, and our son (Stevie’s father) was deploying to Iraq shortly after. Luckily, we are both retired and could accompany Stevie, our son, and our daughter -in-law to Dallas, but most of the families we met there were not as fortunate.
It was heart breaking to see the hardships people endured due to not having a children’s hospital back home. Many lived out of a suitcase in the waiting room, showering and doing laundry at the hospital. Some had to keep their other young children with them there, for they had no family there with which to leave them.
One family was contemplating selling their home and moving to Dallas, because they had to leave their older school-aged children with family back home every trip they made back to Dallas; and, we were all luckier than most, because we were even able to make the trip there, where our Stevie had the best of care.
Thanks to God and so many prayers she is recovering beautifully. Our prayer now is that she continues to do well and that the voters of El Paso will give many, many ill children the same fighting chance Stevie had, but here in El Paso.
Raul and Lydia V.
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My son was a preemie born at Providence Hospital. When he was one day old a nurse in the Neonatal Unit punctured his bladder with an in-and-out catheter.
Three days later, they informed us he had a hole in his bladder and they were flying him to Lubbock’s UMC Children’s Hospital for emergency surgery. Providence said they couldn’t handle that surgery at their facility.
Providence is a fine facility, in most cases, but it doesn’t serve all our needs.
Dan A.
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I believe that a children’s hospital is not necessary and have already voted NO on this albatross.
No disrespect to our neighbors to the South but this will simply become one more free service for Mexican citizens (i.e. Thomason Hospital, public schools, etc.) at the expense of El Paso taxpayers.
And to the Thomason representative that says it won’t cost us anything – you have to be a moron to think you can convince me that we will receive for FREE what you have described as a valuable much-needed service. Even the tooth fairy is more respectful – and more intelligent!
Larry W.
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The advertised “childrens hospital at providence” is smoke and mirrors. It is a maze of a floor with some rooms with decals, no seperate services dedicated only to the children. They share the lab, surgery and radiology.
El Paso Children deserve a REAL childrens hosptial where:
They will be admitted without a billfold biopsy They are affiliated with a medical school They will have staff specially prepared to care for the children Resources with mutiple specialities that provide services for the children and families.
Providence, it is not about empty beds it is about quality and SERVICE. We need cutting edge and progresive care that Thomason with Texas Tech can offer.
Providence tell the truth about the taxes and your “bottom line” El Paso look a the facts, check with families who have tried to transfer children to providence and their claims of a childrens hospital that did not have insurance…. VOTE!
BC
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I have seen your report on the Children’s Hospital. But if they would of continued to film they would of ran into an Adult unit on the same floor in “The Children’s Hospital at Providence.”
And didn’t you report a while back on the closing of the Pediatric ER at Providence? I didn’t see that in this report. Therfore I feel we do need a stand alone Children’s Hospital in El Paso for the Health of our Children.
Concerned resident
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With all the hullabaloo about wanting a $120 million building for a childrens hospital, there sits an almost empty complete hospital – Southwestern.
Why did’t the powers that be try that building as a complete childrens hospital to see if it would pan out? Maybe it’s all about empire-building at the Thomason-Texas Tech complex.
Doctors still won’t hang around El Paso because they get short-shrifted on Medicare-Medicaid and other border-related reimbursements. It’s all about East Texas.
Terry O.
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I was disappointed with the one-sided reporting on the Children’s Hospital from KVIA this past week on. In the story you interviewed a parent whose son spent 5 days in the hospital for an infection.
I am sure they were treated very well at Providence being that they are a top notch hospital with great staff and doctors. Why didn’t you interview parents whose children end up going to hospitals in other cities because we do not have the specialist or services in this town?
How can a hospital who closed its Pediatric ER call itself a Children’s Hospital? Adding the words “Children’s Hospital” to your business does not make you one. Just take a look at the pediatricians who support the Children’s Hospital and you will see the importance and the need for a REAL Children’s Hospital.
Emmanuel G.
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I am a regular viewer of your 10PM newscasts and enjoy your news, weather , and sports coverage. The reason I am writing, is to suggest that you provide more in-depth information regarding the debate concerning 120 million bond issue for a NEW childern’s hospital in El Paso.
Although I am in favor of the new hospital, I think the following information would help El Pasons how to vote on the issue and increase the number of viewers and respect for KVIA:
How many childern are being sent out of El Paso for medical care that cannot be met here in El Paso? What kind of medical care do these childern require? What NEW medical services( care ) would the new hospital provide that are not currently available here in El Paso?
These are the type of questions that need to be asked and answered reqarding this important decision facing all tax paying residents of El Paso. Thank you for listening.
Marcus C.
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Will Providence Children’s Hospital accept young patients WITHOUT insurance?
Luis
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As a pediatric resident here in El Paso, I cannot over emphasize the need our community has for the proposed Childrens Hospital at Thomason.
In my time treating the children of El Paso, I have been forced to send many El Paso children to outside institutions because our city does not have the necessary pediatric services.
Many of my colleagues and I would love to practice speciality pediatrics in El Paso, but we need the infrastructure that a fully licenced childrens hospital would provide.
El Paso’s best hope of attracting pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists to our community is this childrens hospital. I urge everyone to vote for the proposed childrens hospital at Thomason. Its a vote for the children of El Paso.
Art M.
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For years, Texas Tech Pediatric residents have trained at Providence Hospital. Recently, Providence has refused to renew their contract to allow them to train there because of the upcoming children’s hospital vote.
In order to be considered a “children’s hospital”, a hospital must be affiliated with a medical teaching institution (in El Paso, this is the Texas Tech Health Science Center).
Therefore, if Providence is refusing to train pediatricians, they cannot be considered a children’s hospital.
Gilberto G.
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About your Special Report on last night’s 10 o’clock news with the pros and cons of voting for a new children’s hospital:
Is the only pediatrician that you could find for the pro side also on the Thomason Board? That doesn’t seem quite biased?
Mary D.
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I was very disappointed to listen to Rachel Abell’s story on 11/1. I agree that some of our children’s issues may be handled by staff at Providence, but what about the children who need a specialist?
I am an occupational therapist and I work with children with special needs on a daily basis, many of which need to travel out of town to meet medical needs. I am disappointed that your reporter could not interview a parent that has to face that hardship.
Our children deserve every opportunity to medical care and a children’s hospital would give them that opportunity. Please do a fair follow up to this story and interview parents that need to travel with their children to meet their medical needs.
Denise M.
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I am currently one of the pediatric residents working for Texas Tech. I have just viewed your story about the vote for a new children’s hospital at Thomason General Hospital, and I would like to share my opinion that though the story may have covered both sides of the issue, it should not have even been aired considering that you had multiple commercials after it blantantly stating that a new children’s hospital is not needed and would be a waste of tax dollars.
As a resident physician, I have had the opportunity to work with most of the pediatric physicians and specialists who work at Providence Memorial, and I can tell you that some of them have clearly shown that they do not keep up-to-date on the most current management and treatment of pediatric diseases.
This is most likely due to the fact that these physicians are not part of a TEACHING institution, unlike the physicians who work for Texas Tech and Thomason General. In your next broadcast about the issue, you should ask the public if they would feel comfortable having their child in the hospital with a specific illness for which no specialist was available.
We have had many children with renal, rheumatologic, dermatologic, endocrine, and gastrointestinal diseases for which only one or even no specialist is available in El Paso to handle. Creating this new children’s hospital that will be a TEACHING institution, associated with both a medical school and a pediatrics residency program, is the only way to attract these types of physicians to our growing area.
Now THIS is the type of information that the community of El Paso should be aware of before it is too late to vote. Thank you for your time.
Pearl P.
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Two reasons why I am voting for the Children’s hospital:
– We have insurance through YISD but Providence Hospital is not a preferred provider; therefore the Children’s Hospital at Providence does me no good.
– There are too few children’s specialist in El Paso. As the commercial for the Children’s hospital points out, there is only one pediatric neurologist in El Paso so you have to wait 2-3 months for an appointment.
You don’t realize the urgent need for more pediatric specialist until you actually need one. Something I learned from experience and so I am hoping a Children’s hospital will attract more pediatric specialist to El Paso.
C. Flores
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Question, regarding the “Children’s Hospital”. Is the issue about building a (non-profit) Children’s Hospital or a (for-profit) Children’s Hospital – Providence?
Is that the reason families in need of care for their children are having to look to other cities for critical care? I understand a brand new “Doctor’s Hospital” on George Deiter is having financial problems. Why can’t that beautiful , already built, facilty be a Children’s Hospital?
Martha S.
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With the debate as to whether or not a Children’s Hospital should be funded, I have several questions that have not been answered by those who are supporting the Children’s Hospital. The first being: Is this “stand alone” Children’s Hospital going to have more than one floor of patient rooms?
If so how are they going to fill these beds if the opposing hospital doesn’t even fill their floor? I would also like to know if all the floors of this “stand alone” Children’s Hospital with be dedicated to Pediatric Care. I understand that Women’s Center as well as a Labor and Delivery unit are planned for several floors in this “stand alone” Children’s Hospital.
Also, with Thomason providing indigent care, how are they going to pay all these subspecialists the money offered in other large cities if patients can’t pay for their care? Medicaid reimburses at a lower rate in El Paso than other TX city. There has also been an underlying promise to not send our children out of town for care.
Children with special needs, i.e. heart conditions, respiratory problems, and rare cancers will still be sent out of town for the specialized care they need. Can they guarantee that they can bring these highly specialized physcians to provide these services in El Paso? Or is there even a high demand for these highly specialized physcians to practice in El Paso?
How are these specialized physcian’s going to maintain their practice in El Paso with only a few patients that require such a speciality? As a taxpayer, I really don’t want to pay more taxes on services that won’t be used. As a taxpayer, the county hospital is supposed to assist with indigent care and it seems that they are losing their focus at our expense.
M.A.
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Edited for KVIA.com by Miguel Martinez
