A senior government official has expressed pride in the medical care he provides to migrant children in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, saying that he would do for those children what he would want for his own.
“I’m a doctor and a parent. I’m very comfortable in my own skin, and I would do for these folks what I would want done for my own children,” said the government official. “I take care of everyone in our care like I would want my own children taken care of.”
The official, who works for the Department of Homeland Security, spoke on condition of anonymity. He noted that he was proud of what they had done regarding the medical care they provide to children in custody.
However, other medical care professionals disagree, CNN writes, citing the four deaths in CBP custody.
According to a pediatrician caring for migrant children at an El Paso hospital, CBP’s medical screening for children in its custody is “absolutely and unequivocally inadequate.”
But the doctor noted that the CPB is “catching the things we need to catch.” He said a health questionnaire is being administered to every migrant, asking questions about how they are feeling, if they’re taking any medications and if they have symptoms of communicable diseases such as the flu, mumps or measles.
All children under the age of 17 also receive a medical assessment, including a physical exam from a medical professional.
“It’s taking some time to get that up and running, but that’s the plan,” stated the pediatrician, referring to the plan to have all children undergo that exam.
Dr. Colleen Kraft of the American Academy of Pediatrics, however, voiced disappointment in the CBP’s refusal to accept the group’s offer to send pediatricians to train CBP medical staff.
“We have pediatricians who would volunteer to go to the border tomorrow and work with these children and advise medical personnel and train them,” Kraft said. “That’s still our ask, but it’s gotten nowhere.”
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