Sanford Health announces children’s clinic in Mexico

The Sanford Children’s Clinic in the Baja is one of seven Sanford Clinic’s announced as part of the initiatives outlined after a $400 million donation from Denny Sanford in 2007. The primary care pediatric clinic in Baja, Mexico is also made possible by a $2.5 million gift from Sioux Falls native Tom Walsh through the Los Cabos Children’s Foundation. The gift will support the construction and operation of the children’s clinic. The project is also supported by Governor Covarrubias of the Baja region, which is providing land for the clinic.

Sanford will continue to evaluate the Baja area and name an exact clinic site later this year. The pediatric clinic is expected to open in 2013.

“Providing primary care through a pediatric clinic can have a great impact on the health of kids,” stated Dave Link, Sanford Health Sr. executive vice president. “Sanford Health believes that care is best provided close to home and is working with local authorities and government leaders in the Baja area to identity the specific location to initiate the clinic.”

The addition of a permanent general pediatric clinic serves a significant need by guaranteeing health care access to thousands of area children. Half of the growing Baja area population is made up of children, and local health care services are not growing to meet the need.

“We are passionate about helping children of this region, and we are excited to partner with Sanford Health to make this permanent health care facility possible,” said Tom Walsh with the Los Cabos Children’s Foundation. “It’s an honor to help continue the vision of what Sanford Health and Denny started together. Together, we will continue to change the world, one child at a time.”

Physicians in the new clinic will be closely connected to a team of pediatric physicians at Sanford Children’s who are specially trained in a wide variety of pediatric subspecialties. In addition, Sanford will partner with a local hospital to support primary care services with urgent and subspecialty pediatric care. Sanford will also work within government regulations and area insurance providers for payments, however no child will be turned away because of their inability to pay.

Sanford also announced plans today to open clinics in Carmiel, Israel and Ghana, Africa. Sanford Children’s has already opened pediatric clinics in Duncan, OK and Oceanside, CA. Clinics in Klamath Falls, OR and West Dublin, Ireland are underway.