Thread: AZ-Tucson hospital tries to identify injured migrant

Aug 1, 4:38 PM EDT


Tucson hospital tries to identify injured migrant



TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- Social workers at a Tucson hospital are hoping international attention will help them identify a migrant who can't communicate because of a head injury.

For three months, the man has lived at University Medical Center, where he is now walking, eating and trying to communicate. But because of his injuries, he's unable to tell doctors his name.

The man, whom hospital staff have named Adobe, was one of an estimated 50 to 60 illegal immigrants who were packed into a pickup truck that rolled over near Arizona City on April 27.

Pinal County sheriff's deputies estimated that 20 to 30 people ran into the desert after the crash. Four men died, 18 people were flown to hospitals in Tucson and Phoenix and another nine were taken by ambulance to area hospitals.

The migrants were from Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala, and consulates from all three countries have been contacted for help identifying the injured man. But those efforts have been unsuccessful.

Adobe arrived at the hospital with life-threatening injuries but is now slowly recovering.

"He could have left our facility in a matter of days of coming here, because we had done what could be done," hospital spokeswoman Katie Riley said. "He could have been in a rehab facility."

Riley said the man's initial care will probably be covered by federal funds, but the hospital has paid for his care since he became stable.

International patient services coordinator Barbara Felix said it is very unusual for a patient to be unidentified for so long.

"We feel that it's very sad that he's not had anyone from the family come forward because this could help him in his recovery," Felix said. She said usually someone eventually comes looking for their loved one.

Hospital officials don't know if the man speaks Spanish or a native dialect.

"He is trying to speak to us," Felix said. "He is unable to write. We don't know if that is part of the injury or if he was never able to write."

Felix said the man's care matters more than money.

"He's a man without a country at this point," she said. "He is ours. We receive anybody and everybody who comes here."



Information from: Tucson Citizen, http://www.tucsoncitizen.com


http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/ ... TE=DEFAULT

International patient services coordinator Barbara Felix said it is very unusual for a patient to be unidentified for so long.

"We feel that it's very sad that he's not had anyone from the family come forward because this could help him in his recovery," Felix said. She said usually someone eventually comes looking for their loved one.

Why would his family want to be bothered with taking care of him when the hospital is doing it for them and for free?? She thinks illegal aliens care about anyone other than themselves?!? How naive can she be?

Of course, El Salvador, Guatelmala and Mexico don't want this guy back because they will have to pay for his care. Better to leave it to the US taxpayers who will see more rising healthcare costs because of illegals.

Drop him off in a Mexican hospitol and let them pay for his health care.