Brownsville contends with third world health problems

When Dr. Khadim Hussain left his home in Lahore, Pakistan, to practice medicine in the United States, he never expected that the health problems of the developing world would regularly occur among his patients.

But in Brownsville, unregulated diabetes, hypertension, malnutrition, malaria, tuberculosis, and skin infections make daily appearances in the emergency room at the Valley Baptist Medical Center, where Hussain serves as medical director.

"We see people die here of manageable illnesses," he said. "The pathology here is third world pathology."

According to a new report by the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research organization, more than a quarter of Hispanics living in the United States do not have a regular health care provider. Among men, that number is 36 percent; among undocumented immigrants it's 43 percent.

In Brownsville, where more than 92 percent of the population is Hispanic, Hussain says this lack of preventative care exacerbates what would be minor medical conditions, creating tragic consequences.

"I've worked in many parts of the country and this is the only place I've seen a glucose level of 2700," he said. A normal level is 70 to 110.

According to the report, most of those without a regular health care provider say they don't need one because they're seldom sick.

"I try to stay away from the doctor's office," said Roberto Ruiz, a mechanic in Los Fresnos.

Ruiz, 52, said that he sees a specialist for back problems, but isn't concerned about heart disease, cancer, or diabetes. Death, he says, is a part of life.

"If it's going to happen, it's going to happen."

Along the border, Hussain says the accessibility to prescription drugs encourages people to self-medicate.

"They give themselves the wrong thing, and then they're in more trouble than they were to begin with," he said.

Emergency room traffic has steadily increased, in part because payment isn't requested up front.

"More than 40 percent of the Valley is uninsured," said Dr. Brian Smith of the Texas Department of State Health Services. "Emergency room visits are 10 times as expensive."

At Valley Baptist's Diabetes Control Center, Dr. Teo Ong says most patients are referred by a primary care physician, making it unlikely that those without such a resource would be directed to specialized help.

"It's not just diabetes that becomes a problem," Ong said. "When you are weakened by advanced diabetes, a simple cough can cause your body to deteriorate rapidly."

Pilar Gonzalez and her husband Alfredo say that they've avoided their fathers' history of diabetes by following the advice of a primary care physician.

The couple moved to Brownsville from Matamoros 14 years ago, and say the Pew statistics are no surprise.

"It's the culture (in Mexico)," Alfredo said. "You only go to the doctor when you have a problem."

Overall, Hussain says that conditions have improved since he joined the hospital's staff almost a decade ago.

"There is more awareness (of these issues) than there was then," he said. "It's getting better."