Health, Doctors and Common Sense

A once-prominent Sacramento obstetrician with a criminal past could face new discipline from the state medical board, which has accused him of improperly handling controlled substances.

Dr. Roger D. Mathews declined to comment on the allegations, which involve failing to fully label prescription medications he dispensed to patients, and failing to keep controlled substances in a locked container.

Mathews came to the attention of federal and medical authorities in the late 1990s, when he was accused of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering in connection with an international securities scam.

He pleaded guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud, and in 1999, when he was 66 years old, he was sentenced to 14 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $472,500 in restitution.

At the time of his criminal indictment in 1998, a fellow physician described Mathews as a highly respected doctor with a large, loyal practice.

But federal investigators said he had also been conspiring for years with two other people to lure investors into bogus deals.

Over a long career, Mathews had been a clinical associate professor at UC Davis School of Medicine, director of women’s health services at Mercy General Hospital and an obstetrician with the Sutter Medical Group.

The Medical Board of California suspended Mathews’ license to practice medicine while he was in prison, and later changed that suspension to a 10-year license probation.

He continued to practice medicine under terms of the medical board probation, which included taking an ethics class, filing quarterly reports, and later taking a course in proper handling of controlled substances.

In July 2008, during a medical board audit of Mathews’ practice, an investigator found “controlled substances and dangerous drugs” in a metal locker that was unlocked, with its door wide open, according to the new accusation.

The investigator also found that descriptions of the shape, color and markings on certain pills were missing from bottle labels, it said.

The accusation, prepared by the state attorney general’s office on behalf of the medical board, asks for revocation of Mathews’ license or other, lesser penalties.

Tags: Clinical Associate Professor, Controlled Substances, Criminal Indictment, Dangerous Drugs, Federal Investigators, Federal Prison, Fellow Physician, International Securities, Mathews, Medical Authorities, Medical Board Of California, Medicine Director, Mercy General Hospital, Money Laundering, Obstetrician, Quarterly Reports, School Of Medicine, State Medical Board, Sutter Medical Group, Wire Fraud

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San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom envisions a statewide network of community clinics but admits few counties have the infrastructure, including clinics, that San Francisco had in place.

SAN FRANCISCO – Three years ago, this city turned itself into a laboratory for remaking the country’s health care system with a bold experiment to expand services to the uninsured, working poor and medically underserved.

Mayor Gavin Newsom touts Healthy San Francisco as a signature accomplishment – worthy as a model for the nation.

It’s too early to tell whether he is right, with researchers only beginning to evaluate the program’s early successes and longer-term limitations.

But many eyes are turning toward San Francisco’s brand of universal health care. Just last week, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius chatted with Newsom during a visit to San Francisco, seeking to learn from the city’s experience.

“We know that the health care status quo is unsustainable, and we need an American solution to this American problem,” her spokesman, Nicholas Papas, said in an e-mail.

President Barack Obama has taken notice, too, praising Newsom, among other mayors, at a White House gathering in February. The Obama administration has made overhauling the country’s health care system a priority, and Congress is in the midst of drafting legislation.

“Instead of just talking about health care,” the president said, “mayors like Gavin Newsom in San Francisco have been ensuring that those in need receive it.”

After years of hand-wringing, San Francisco applied some of the principles now being hotly debated in Washington, such as a government-run health plan and employer spending mandates.

The process began when the Board of Supervisors in July 2006 unanimously adopted the first-of-its-kind Health Care Security Ordinance. The first enrollees joined Healthy San Francisco a year later.

The city established a network of clinics and hospitals, both public and private, to care for its uninsured at an estimated cost of $200 million a year.

To date, more than 42,000 residents have enrolled, which city officials hail as a sign of success toward providing services to its estimated 60,000 uninsured working-age residents.

Qualified residents pay fees based on income. Those at or below the poverty level pay nothing. Those with moderate incomes – up to five times the poverty level or about $54,000 for a one-person household – pay a monthly fee of $450.

Businesses contribute

Even in this self-consciously progressive city – where the question of paper or plastic at grocery stores sparks civic debate – Healthy San Francisco has not been universally embraced.

Among its most controversial aspects is a requirement that local companies contribute to their employees’ health care. Companies with at least 20 employees must pay $1.23 toward health insurance for every hour worked by an employee; those with 100 or more employees pay $1.85.

Officials consider the approach essential to prevent companies from abandoning their own group insurance plans and relying on Healthy San Francisco to care for their employees.

The Golden Gate Restaurant Association has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate the mandate to pay for care. Some restaurateurs have tacked health care surcharges onto restaurant checks.

Daniel Scherotter, owner and executive chef of the upscale Palio d’Asti restaurant, says the health care spending mandate is adding to hard times. Beyond the recession, San Francisco’s minimum wage is the state’s highest: $9.79 an hour.

“When you add up all these costs, you have to take an ax” to cut jobs, Scherotter said. “I’m a chef. The last thing I want to do is take an ax to my kitchen.”

S.F. plan is not a cure-all

Early drafts of federal legislation meant to overhaul the country’s health care system have drawn similar opposition from business groups. One draft is under fire for its $1.6 trillion price tag.

A key component of the current proposals is a public health plan that would compete with private insurers – which supporters say would bring down the cost of premiums.

Overhauling health care, Newsom told The Bee in a recent interview, is “probably the most debated, most discussed, least acted upon issue today.”

Indeed, the high cost of health care long has been a national concern. In 2007, the health care industry accounted for more than $2.4 trillion in spending, or about 17 percent of the gross domestic product, according to the National Coalition on Health Care.

By some counts, more than 46 million Americans are uninsured; 6.6 million of those live in California.

With health care costs rising, the poor and uninsured put off routine medical care, said Kit Chan, a nursing manager at the Chinatown Public Health Center, a city-run community clinic that helped launch Healthy San Francisco two years ago.

As they get sicker, they seek help – sometimes ending up in the city’s emergency rooms, Chan said, where caring for them costs far more.

Chan’s clinic serves more than 5,000 patients, primarily immigrants from working-class neighborhoods near downtown. About a third of them now are enrolled in Healthy San Francisco.

San Francisco’s health care program is not a cure-all. It does not cover dental, vision and long-term care, and it’s available only to those who live within the city’s boundaries.

“There definitely needs to be more fine-tuning. It’s a little hard for us to meet demand,” Chan said. “But it’s helping.”

Clinics linked electronically

Newsom envisions a statewide network of community clinics but acknowledges that few counties have the infrastructure that was already in place in San Francisco, including its robust clinic system.

“We are not arguing that this is going to be easily replicated,” he said. “But we do believe there is remarkable capacity in a state like California to build on this plan.”

Healthy San Francisco participants can seek basic care at any of 29 public or nonprofit neighborhood clinics, which are linked by an electronic record system, enabling continuous care from one facility to the next.

In Sacramento, by contrast, budget cuts have led officials to close clinics, cut staffing and reduce services.

A cookie-cutter approach won’t work for every community, but the core principles could be worth emulating, according to Marty Keale, executive director of Sacramento’s Capitol Community Health Network.

“There’s no model that can be lifted in its entirety from one area to another,” he said.

Daniel Scherotter, owner and executive chef of Palio d’Asti restaurant, says San Francisco’s health care spending mandate is making things even more difficult in the recession. Some restaurateurs in the city have tacked health care surcharges onto restaurant checks.

Tags: Barack Obama, Board Of Supervisors, Bold Experiment, Community Clinics, E Mail, Gavin Newsom, Health And Human Services, Health Care Security, Health Care System, Kathleen Sebelius, Mail President, Mayor Gavin Newsom, Mayors, Papas, San Francisco, San Francisco Mayor, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Statewide Network, Term Limitations, Universal Coverage, Universal Health Care

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Cancer is a deadly disease that has no cure. Those who suffer from it are doomed to die. People who are diagnosed with cancer go through a depressive phase as it means that their life has come to an end. It is better to treat if it is diagnosed at an early stage.
Cancer is [...]

Tags: Brisk Walking, Cancer Cancer, Cancer Genes, Cancer Of The Colon, Cancer Of The Skin, Cause Of Cancer, Causes Of Cancer, Cigarette Smoke, Depressive Phase, Fruits And Vegetables, Lack Of Exercise, Physical Exercise, Preventable Cause, Proper Shape, Radiation Uv, Risky Habits, Smoke Smoke, Stage Cancer, Types Of Cancers, Ultraviolet Radiation

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H1NI is causing much concern all over the world. The flu-like symptoms affecting the patient suffering from the new virus need to be taken care of medically in order to present the virus from spreading to others. The illness is expected to remain for some more time. People need to be able to identify the [...]

Tags: Antiviral Drugs, Body Aches Fatigue, Chills, Chronic Illnesses, Emergency Medical Care, Flu, Flu Like Symptoms, Flu Symptoms, Heart Problem, Initial Period, Medical Care Facilities, Medical Professional, Medical Professionals, Necessary Precautions, New Virus, Pregnant Women, Runny Nose, Sore Throat, Swine Flu, Virus Need

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A chicken in a flock between Davis and Woodland has tested positive for the West Nile virus, officials said today.

The chicken is part of a flock of 10 birds that the Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control maintains in that location to monitor the presence of the virus and reduce transmission to people.

Blood samples of each chicken are tested each week at six flocks in the district. When an infected mosquito bites a chicken, the bird does not become ill.

Instead, it develops antibodies toward the virus. Finding the virus in a chicken is significant because the flocks don’t interact with wild, uncaged birds.

“This means transmission of West NIle is occurring specifically in that area,” said David Brown, district manager.

The district also has seen a high number of mosquitoes in Yolo County. Brown suggested residents protect themselves with mosquito repellent at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active.

As a result of the positive test, the district will continue trapping mosquitoes in the area and apply ground spraying to reduce the mosquito population.

Tags: Antibodies, Birds, Blood Samples, David Brown, Dawn And Dusk, Flock, Flocks, Mosquito, Mosquito Bites, Mosquito Population, Mosquito Repellent, Mosquitoes, Presence, Sacramento Yolo Mosquito, Vector Control, West Nile Virus, Yolo County

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High blood pressure can prove to be a serious health hazard as it leads to several health complications, which can prove to be fatal. The heart when under pressure pumps more blood and the blood pressure is raised. The artery, through which the blood flows, get clogged due to cholesterol deposits and makes it difficult [...]

Tags: Blood Flows, Blood Pressure Levels, Cholesterol Deposits, Cognitive Decline, Coronary Heart Disease, Extra Pressure, Good Health, Health Complications, Health Hazard, Health Risks, Healthy Lifestyles, Heart Attack, Heart Attacks, Heart Diseases, High Blood Pressure, Major Health, Mmhg, Pressure Pumps, Risks Of High Blood Pressure, Serious Health

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Victor Chavez is hoping people turn out Friday to register for a bone and marrow drive in Sacramento. His life depends on it.

Chavez, a Vallejo resident, suffers from chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, a rare blood cancer, and needs a bone marrow transplant. When Chavez’s relatives did not prove a match, a bone marrow registry was searched.

A match was found, but for unspecified reasons, the donor chose not to go through with it.

Chavez is back to square one, hoping people come to a bone marrow drive from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday at Sutter Cancer Center, 2800 L St. in Sacramento, Classrooms 3 and 4.

Because fewer minorities are in the registry, it is more difficult to find a match for a Hispanic patient.

“I think the Latino community would be more open to being a donor if they were better informed of the process,” said Chavez. “Transplantation sounds scary, but it is a pretty easy process for the donor and the patient.”

Chavez, 57, is receiving chemotherapy at Sutter Cancer Center. After losing 60 pounds, he has regained his appetite.

Meanwhile, his son, William, has put his college education on hold to drive Chavez to medical appointments.

For more information, call (916) 453-5916.

Tags: Appetite, Blood Cancer, Bone Marrow Donor, Bone Marrow Drive, Bone Marrow Registry, Bone Marrow Transplant, Chemotherapy, Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia, College Education, Latino Community, Leukemia, Match, Medical Appointments, Minorities, Register, Relatives, Sutter Cancer Center, Transplantation, Victor Chavez

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You’ve been getting your Sudafed, Zyrtec-D and Claritin-D over the counter for years, but that could change Jan. 1 if a state bill to combat methamphetamine use becomes law.

California lawmakers are looking at requiring prescriptions for popular over-the-counter cold and allergy medications that contain pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in the illicit manufacture of meth.

The Senate passed the bill 22-10, sending it to the Assembly for consideration. If it’s passed and gets the governor’s signature, consumers would have two choices: Go to the doctor, or change their medicine of choice.

Although hotly contested between law enforcement advocates and health organizations, the legislation isn’t widely known among people waiting in line at their local pharmacy.

“Whenever you try to make something better for society, it makes responsible people’s lives worse,” said Jesse McGrew, 25, a Sacramento resident who uses the allergy meds.

“I don’t need another co-pay,” said Mary Dolan, a 51-year-old Sacramento resident. “My co-pay went up last year. And with the economy and insurance costs these days, I just don’t think there should be any undue burdens on consumers getting the medicine they want.”

Dolan, like millions of other people, uses drugs containing pseudoephedrine to combat seasonal sniffles, the occasional cold and sinus problems.

Lawmakers supporting the change and law-enforcement agencies say fighting meth labs – a growing problem in the state – is of paramount importance to public safety.

“The carnage that we incur vs. the inconvenience that might occur – it shouldn’t even be a question. The carnage is real,” said the bill’s author, Sen. Rod Wright, D-Los Angeles.

He added that federal sales restrictions have not solved the problem. In 2006, the U.S. government limited individual purchases to no more than 3.5 grams of pseudoephedrine in one day, required retailers to ask for identification before making sales, and required them to keep a log of all sales.

“Most meth is made with pseudoephedrine that is legally purchased,” Wright said. “So we need to slow down their source of material.”

Senate Bill 484, modeled after a 2006 Oregon law, is expected to stop the practice of “smurfing” – when meth makers hire five to six people to drive around to different pharmacies that sell pseudoephedrine products and buy the maximum legal amount at each location. A day’s worth of smurfing could result in enough pseudoephedrine to make $20,000 worth of meth, officials said.

“After we passed the bill, Oregon went from having about 40 meth lab incidents a month to three active meth lab incidents per year in both 2007 and 2008,” said Rob Bovette, the district attorney from rural Lincoln County, Ore., and author of that state’s bill. “We’ve completely eliminated smurfing, and we’ve nearly eliminated meth labs.”

The federal legislation has had a chilling effect. In 2008, California reported 346 meth lab incidents – ranging from seizing an active meth lab to cleaning up toxic remnants. In 2004, before the federal law took effect, California authorities recorded 764 meth lab responses.

Advocates, however, point out that the number of meth lab incidents reported last year increased from 2007. They also argue that while the bill may pose inconveniences for consumers, meth labs pose dangers to entire communities.

“In addition to serving as a (manufacturing) point for meth, they’re likely to blow up,” said John Lovell, a lobbyist for law enforcement organizations including the California Peace Officers Association. “They can cause enormous toxic waste pollution in a community, people who are exposed to the meth fumes, particularly children, can be severely damaged, and, of course, they are the manufacturing points for meth.”

Lovell added that there are countless alternatives for consumers looking to stop their allergy and cold symptoms.

“There are at least 30 and as many as 100 cold medications that do not use pseudoephedrine,” Lovell said. “When the law went into effect in Oregon, many consumers just switched (medications).”

But consumers say they use the medications containing pseudoephedrine because they are more effective in relieving the nasal congestion associated with colds and allergies.

“I use Zyrtec-D, and it works for me,” said Aeasha Usher, a 36-year-old Sacramento resident who works as a monitor at a local drug and alcohol program. “If I had to go to the doctor to get it, I’d have to take off of work. And I’d do it, but I’d have to get poked and prodded and go to the pharmacy, for what? Allergy medicine?”

Tags: Allergy Medications, Allergy Pills, California Lawmakers, Claritin D, Health Organizations, Insurance Costs, Lab Concerns, Law Enforcement Agencies, Mary Dolan, Mcgrew, Meth Labs, Occasional Cold, Old Sacramento, Pseudoephedrine, Sacramento Resident, Sales Restrictions, Sinus Problems, Two Choices, Undue Burdens, Zyrtec

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Nurse Susan Frye checks on a newborn in the neonatal intensive care unit at Sutter Memorial Hospital last week. Many nurses retire in their 50s, but Frye, 63, said her love of the job and, now, the shaky economy have kept her and many other older nurses on the job.

In retirement, Susan Frye looked forward to cruising the high seas, spending more time in her garden and resting her weary body from two demanding decades of work as a registered nurse.

The physical and emotional demands of the job lead most registered nurses to retire in their 50s. Frye, at 63, could have retired years ago. But her body remained strong. So did her love for working in the neonatal intensive care unit at Sutter Memorial Hospital.

Then the economy soured, and her spirit was suddenly as deflated as her nest egg.

“By October and November of last year, the economy was just getting too scary,” she said. “Now, my retirement plans are in a state of flux.”

The recession has presented a peculiar silver lining for the health care industry by slowing retirement plans for a generation of nurses. Their departure from the profession could further deepen the industry’s chronic nursing shortage.

For years, hospitals across the country have braced for an exodus.

The average age of a working nurse in California is 47, with 45 percent over the age of 50, according to the California Institute for Nursing and Health Care.

More than one in 10 registered nurses working for Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region is over 60 years old, suggesting an imminent surge in retirements.

“People aren’t retiring because of the economy. All of a sudden, when the economy turns around, they’re all going to leave,” said Anette Smith-Dohring, the work force development manager for the regional health system.

“It’s going to be a huge problem,” she said. “We’re OK for today, but what will happen if that additional production in nurses isn’t there?”

The demand for nurses – health care workers, really – remains strong despite the weakened economy, partly because of the expected waves of baby boomers needing health services.

If successful, plans to overhaul the country’s health care system could mean millions of additional people seeking health care, particularly if the country’s 46 million uninsured – about 6 million in California – have improved access to health care.

What’s more, a state law passed by voters in 1999 imposed mandatory staffing levels that, in effect, increased the need for nurses. Ever since, the competition for experienced registered nurses has risen among private hospitals.

Salaries have risen, too. RN salaries in the Sacramento area typically start at $30 an hour, sometimes more. Experienced nurses earn more than $90,000 annually, some with six-figure salaries.

Because hospitals have not been immune to the travails of the economy, vacancies have declined. Some have slowed hiring.

Hospitals within Sutter Health’s local region, for example, have few vacancies – 46 open positions, representing a mere 2.3 percent of all registered nurses.

But the relative slowdown is temporary, most acknowledge.

“We don’t want to be lulled into a false sense of security. The shortage is still there,” although perhaps not as acute in the state’s larger cities, said Ann Stoltz, who chairs the nursing division at California State University, Sacramento.

Just three years ago, some nurses received signing bonuses, she said.

The problem isn’t lack of interest in a profession that provides a decent wage, said Sandra Kirschenmann, vice chancellor for resource development for the Los Rios Community College District.

Nursing schools can’t keep up with the demand – from potential students seeking admission and from hospitals needing to fill vacancies now and into the future.

“What will that tidal wave of retirements produce when it comes? We know it’s coming. I think we would have been seeing it now, if not for the recession,” Kirschenmann said.

“We have no shortage of students who want in,” she added.

Sacramento City College turns away 900 applicants every year and American River College, which also has a nursing program, turns away hundreds more. College counselors often suggest students look into other in-demand health careers, such as physical therapy, dental hygiene and pharmacy technology.

Six years ago, the district partnered with Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra, which provided $16.8 million in funding, to expand the nursing program at Sacramento City College. The partnership about tripled the program’s capacity from about 35 students annually to roughly 100 as part of a six-year goal to add 500 new registered nurses to the work force.

“We’ll see a big need, and we have to really look into this. We need more funding for nursing education,” said Geri Jenkins, a San Diego registered nurse and co-president of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee.

In 2005, California officials, using the Sutter and Los Rios partnership as a model, began a five-year program to increase the number of registered nurses in California. The state invested $90 million to expand nursing programs at schools across the state.

Last month, the state announced that it would provide $60 million more to extend the program for another five years.

State officials say the program boosted the work force, and the state now has 647 registered nurses for every 100,000 people, up from 589. Still, the state lags behind the country, which has 825 registered nurses per 100,000, according to the state’s work force development agency. Other groups report similar statistics.

Only Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah ranked lower, according to the Kaiser Family Health Foundation. Four years ago, the state was at the bottom. In comparison, Massachusetts and South Dakota each have 1,214 registered nurses per 100,000.

The trouble is in recruiting classroom instructors. Schools, unable to compete with the salaries of working nurses, are challenged in luring nurses to lead classrooms because the incentive to teach isn’t as lucrative as working in a hospital ward.

Michael Benavidez, 27, of Sacramento, saw nursing as an opportunity to better provide for his family.

Benavidez started as a pot washer at Sutter Memorial’s kitchen before landing a job on its lift team, a back-straining job assisting medical staff with moving patients into beds and wheelchairs. A nurse suggested he apply for the Sutter-Sacramento City College program.

“I was pretty much hired before I graduated. I always knew I had a job waiting for me,” he said.

That wasn’t the case when Frye began her career a quarter-century ago. Unable to find a good job at a hospital, she worked for an allergist in private practice.

“It was hard to find a job in those days,” she said. “Can you believe there were too many nurses? That is so hard to believe right now.”

Michael Benevidez is a surgical RN at Sutter General Hospital. He was working on the hospital lift team, helping medical staff move patients into beds and wheelchairs, when a nurse suggested he look into the Sutter-Sacramento City College nursing program.

Michael Benevidez is a surgical RN at Sutter General Hospital. He was working on the hospital lift team, helping medical staff move patients into beds and wheelchairs, when a nurse suggested he look into the Sutter-Sacramento City College nursing program.

Tags: Exodus, Nursing Shortage, Recession

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Olivia Fontes Díaz, left, mother of 2-year-old Javier Alexis Pacheco Fontes, fights tears as she and another mother, Adriana Guadalupe Villegas Yáñez, address a news conference at Shriners hospital in Sacramento on Monday.

Grim-faced and subdued, two mothers and a father gathered in a hospital meeting room on Monday to thank everyone who helped their badly burned children escape from a day care fire and reach relative safety in Sacramento.

“I felt like I was coming together with some angels that were going to take care of my son,” Olivia Fontes Díaz said through a translator at a news conference at Shriners Hospitals for Children Northern California.

Her 2-year-old, Javier Alexis Pacheco Fontes, was one of three toddlers flown to the Sacramento hospital over the weekend, after a fire Friday in Hermosillo, Mexico, that killed 44.

One little girl who had been chosen for a flight to Shriners died before she could make the trip, according to the Associated Press.

The three who did arrive, two boys and a girl with burns ranging from 20 percent to 80 percent of their bodies, “have done well with surgery so far,” their doctors said in a written statement.

All three face multiple operations, long hospital stays and rehabilitation that will last into adulthood, the statement said.

Along with Javier, who was burned over about 20 percent of his body, the other two children were identified as Héctor Manuel Robles Villegas, 3, with 50 percent burns, and Alejandra Guadalupe Esquer Ochoa, 3, with 80 percent burns.

Alejandra’s mother worked at the day care center and remained hospitalized in Mexico in stable condition, according to her husband, Heraclio Ernesto Esquer López, who had come to Sacramento to watch over their daughter.

Esquer could not remember how long it took to find his little girl after the blaze, but “I did not rest until I found” her, he said through the translator.

As word of the fire reached parents, “the first thing we felt was anguish, desperation,” Héctor’s mother, Adriana Guadalupe Villegas Yáñez, said through the translator.

“We had to go and try to find our children … . There’s nothing else you can think of,” she said.

Speaking for all three parents, Villegas said she wanted to thank everyone in Mexico and California who had offered the families help and encouragement.

“Please continue with the prayers,” she said.

On Monday afternoon, both 3-year-olds remained in critical condition, and the youngest boy’s condition was listed as serious.

The parents and their children are likely to get strong support from Shriners, said Dulce Vega, who works at the Mexican Consulate in Sacramento and was herself a Shriners patient starting in 2001, when a house fire left her with burns on her face, hands and back.

Vega was 16 then, and “I don’t think there is a word to describe that pain,” she recalled. “It’s horrible.”

She cannot even remember how many trips she made back and forth from her home in Nogales, Mexico, to Sacramento for surgeries and rehabilitation.

What she does recall is the unending kindness of doctors, social workers and support groups who helped her and her family deal with the pain and adjustments a burn patient must make.

If Vegas could tell the shell-shocked parents one thing, it would be this: “Just be there for them, and be patient, because it’s hard to see your kids going through that pain and you can’t do anything about it.”

For her, the toughest part of burn recovery was the adjustment she had to make as a teenage girl to a life that was not what she had imagined it would be. Her hands and face are scarred, she said, but “I’m grateful that I’m alive and God gave me a new chance to do my best.”

The Mexican Consulate here will be a conduit for offers of help for the children and their families, said Carlos González Gutiérrez, the consul general. He said anyone interested in helping can call the consulate at (916) 329-3533.

“We are really grateful to Shriners for what they are doing,” he said.

The hospital, supported by the Shriners fraternal organization, provides free care for children with burns, orthopedic or spinal cord injuries.

González and Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson both appeared at the Monday news conference to praise its work.

“We are fortunate here in Sacramento to have a world-class hospital that specializes in burn trauma and that also provides these services free, free of charge,” Johnson said. “I am proud that we stepped up to help and assist those that were beyond our borders.”

Tags: Mexico, Toddlers

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