CHOC center discussion should focus on children

Quynh Kieu and Burton Willis

As pediatricians, we have read with interest the Daily Pilot’s

ongoing airing of community commentary on the proposed children’s

health care center at Rea Elementary School.

Almost every day, a new group of letters appears decrying the plan

as a plot to decimate the Westside Costa Mesa community. All of these

letters focus on such logistics of the proposed health center as

where it would be located, what the traffic impact would be, whether

families from outside the Westside would be served, etc.

What is missing is a focus on the reason behind the collaborative

efforts of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, Children’s

Hospital of Orange County and their partners to bring a new

children’s health care center to Westside Costa Mesa.

In a letter that appeared in the Pilot on Aug. 20 (Readers

Respond, “Children’s Hospital health clinic discussion continues”),

Bill and Nancy Souza pointed out that an estimated 4,000 Westside

Costa Mesa children quality for medical coverage through Medi-Cal,

and there is not one pediatrician in the 92627 zip code who accepts

Medi-Cal patients. Thousands of children in Westside Costa Mesa,

then, are likely not receiving timely, comprehensive medical care.

This status quo cannot continue without serious negative consequences

for the entire community.

Several readers have voiced concerns about encouraging illegal

immigration through the provision of publicly funded social programs.

My response is that pediatricians put children’s health first -- no

matter who the child. It is not the place of pediatricians or

children’s hospitals to set or debate our government’s immigration

policy. It is our mission to care for children who need care. I will

also point out that the children who qualify for Medi-Cal, the target

population for the proposed new children’s health center, must meet

citizenship or legal resident criteria. By helping them get a healthy

start in life with quality health care, we take an important step

toward ensuring that they will become contributing members of our

society.

In closing, I’d like to share a favorite quote from the immortal

Pearl S. Buck, who said, “If our American way of life fails the

child, it fails us all.”

Let’s stop debating the logistics of the proposed new children’s

health center and start some meaningful discussions about how to

better serve the health care needs of Westside Costa Mesa’s children.

* QUYNH KIEU and BURTON WILLIS are the president and chair,

respectively, of the California Chapter 4 American Academy of

Pediatrics.