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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 10, 1984)
Wednesday, October 10,1984/The Battalion/Page 11 onds epair of s Biyan) 19100 HE ;ial diatelf 71 Infants dying Poor mothers can't afford medical care United Press International BROWNSVILLE — Nightmares appear to be coming true for doctors who work in Brownsville with pov erty-stricken pregnant women and their babies. Less than a week after the expira tion of federal funding that paid hospital care in indigent maternity rases, infant deaths have occurred that doctors said could have been prevented. Last month, doctors at Brownsville Community Health Clinic predicted an increase in baby deaths after the Federal Jobs Bill — which funded prenatal care for im poverished mothers — expired at the end of September. “It may be coming true even sooner than I thought,” said Dr. Da vid Smith, director of the BCHC maternity center. A baby died during childbirth last Thursday, a death Smith attributed to the inability of the mother to af ford hospital treatment. There is no charity hospital in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. The mother, because she could not af ford other treatment, went to an un licensed partera (midwife). When the midwife realized the woman needed additional care, she took her to Valley Community Hospital. But by then the infant already was dead. “The head was already born,” Smith said. “The rest of the body was still in the womb.” Because the baby was unusually large, at 1 1 pounds, it should never have been born outside of a hospital, the physician said. But the mother had no insurance and no way to pay more than the $150 parteras usually charge. Childbirth can cost $1,000 or more at a hospital. Some 18.5 percent of the Valley’s babies are born in places other than hospitals — much higher than the average of 2.9 percent in Texas. Last Wednesday night, after an other expectant woman’s water bag broke prematurely, the clinic had to fly her to Houston, where she had to take an ambulance to Galveston. John Sealy Hospital in Galveston — more than $00 miles away — is the closest facility for serving indi gent patients. The woman underwent a Caesa rean delivery the next morning in Galveston to prevent infection. The Brownsville clinic paid $300 for the roundtrip flight and ambulance ride, because the case was not a “life- threatening emergency,” and there fore, not eligible for treatment at the local private hospitals. Valley hospitals may start hurting financially without the previously available funding, Smith said. Since they must accept emergency pa tients, regardless of their ability to pay, they often must absorb the un paid bills of indigents. If not dying, other babies already may be receiving inadequate treat ment, he said. “I have a patient that was born Thursday, that even though the baby needs to stay there a couple of more days (because of blood sugar problems), the family asked to take the baby out because they just can’t afford it,” Smith said. The Task Force on Indigent Health Care presented details in a Harlingen meeting last week of a pi lot program for providing health care to the Valley’s poor. The plan, to be presented for pos sible approval by the Texas Legis lature next year, would not go into effect until September 1985 if funded. Smith and Dr. George Gilson, as sociate director of the maternity cen ter, said the pilot program would be helpful, but asked what they should do with indigent patients until then. Referring to the baby that died last Thursday, Smith said, “We are four days into the loss of funding, and it is already making me worry that we are going to start seeing more of this preventable mortality.” T he doctor said some local health professionals may travel to Austin and present a case to Gov. Mark White or his staff, in an ef fort to ob tain emergency state f unding. Nuke freeze educator talks VTRESj i 4TRY UN.,ALL SUI1 I LVMCHTS(K| ILVNICKtUIl STUDENTSt bunnj.c.kki CONSOUmlDJ United Press International EL PASO — Not only is Johnny not learning to read in school, he is also not learning about peace, a nu clear freeze advocate said Tuesday. Mary Ann Gleason, psychologist and educator, told a University of Texas at El Paso audience that teach ers on all levels need to take time to terch students there is an alternative to war. Gleason’s speech was part of a week-long series of anti-war lectures being sponsored by the El Paso Peace Coalition. "The entire issue of national secu rity has been tied to nuclear weap ons,” she said. “If we only define an swers to technical terms, instead of ethical, we buy into the idea of only one solution to the problem of peace, nuclear arms.” Students need to be taught about the world’s interdependence, she said. “They need to be shown how to get along and how to negotiate peace,” she said. Cileason said her Boston-based or ganization encourages educators to develop a curriculum that stresses peace and responsibility in the nu clear age. “We're just as concerned that Johnny can’t conceive the idea of peace as most parents are that Johnny can’t read,” she said. “There is entirely too much emphasis in the schools today on science and math and not enough on the humanities.” Gleason said her organization is training teachers on all levels to be more aware of the alternatives to war. “On the elementary level, chil dren should not be taught about the horrors of nuclear war, because they cannot handle it at that level,” she said, “but they know about interact ing with each other and can learn the process of negotiating peace.” In high school, Gleason said, stu dents are capable of understanding all the intricate problems of national security. Teachers, she said, must take time to develop peace studies in the classroom because of the precar ious situation the world is in. Gollege curriculum should in clude a study of decisions relating to war and the possible alternatives, she said, adding that students in some colleges and universities are already studying the alternatives available to the United States at the time of the decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. “Americans are capable of making good decisions on war and peace and should be involved in the deci sion-making process,” she said. “Americans are frightened at the prospect of nuclear war and are be ginning to realize that although we have nuclear arms, we are in danger ourselves, as well as the rest of the world.” K)LBV A.iJ) 1 two T 7:15 9:35 Interest free Loans!!! Let Us Help You Study Abroad... Overseas Loan * Applications available Starting Oct. 8 Room 216 MSC * Deadline for Applications Oct. 19 by 5:00 p.m. * Loans Available for educationally related trips December - April for more information contact: MSC Travel Committee 845-1515 Fund ibyl oupott FRESHMAN RUNOFF ELECTIONS THURSDAY OCTOBER 11 9 A.M.-6 P.M. MSC MAIN LOUNGE & THE PAVILION Bring your student ID Call 845-3051 for more info go s TEXAS Alll TUDENT RNMENT UNIVERSITY Bond set for four in pot case United Press International CORPUS CHRIST I — Four South Texas men were arraigned Tuesday on charges of possessing with intent to distribute 520 pounds of marijuana confiscated during a raid of a farm near Orange Grove. Bond was set at $20,000 for Bobby Franklin McGary, 30, of Ing- leside, and at $50,000 each for Eleno Guerra, 39, of Orange Grove; Juan Zavala, 53, of Uvalde, and Adolfo Romeo, 39, of Robstown. Two juveniles arrested during the weekend raid “will not be pros ecuted at this time,” a spokeswoman for U.S. Magistrate Eduardo de Ases said after the arraignments. Officers from the sheriffs depart ments of Nueces and Jim Wells Counties and the police department in Orange Grove arrested the six Sunday night. TAMU Stadium Seats Stadium Cushions *14.95 *3.95 Maroon & white vinyl Maroon & white vinyl cushioned seat cushioned seat Aggie emblem Old Sarge emblem Tin-State Sfyoits (tester 2023 Texas, Townshire Center 779-8776 ' NUCLCAR D€F€NS€ OR D€GflCl€?' Freeze Forum '84 presents Col. Don Clark, USflF (ret.), of Montana State University, former advisor to the Joint Chiefs of Staff on SALT 1 and 2, Conference for the Committee on Disarmament, Curopean Security Conference. Wednesday, October 10, 7:30 p.m., 601 Rudder sponsored by Aggie Peace Rction, in cooperation with Peace Links and Brazos Valley Peace Rction FR€€ Car (continued from page 1) ~\„ • the Red Cross, said new seats now are being ordered because they ex pect an increased demand for them in the next few months. “We have about thirty seats now, but are ordering more since the Bryan Lions Club donated $500 for the cause,” she said. “All of the seats we have now are designed for chil dren up to six-months-old.” Stiteler said the seats they cur rently have in stock are the best for most people since they can only be borrowed for a six-month period. “We have the smaller seats so peo ple would not have to invest in some thing they will be able to use for only about six-months,” she said. “When the children grow out of the seats they can return them and purchase one to suit their future needs.” The seats can be picked up at the Red Cross office, 207 W. 29th St., Bryan, weekdays from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., Stiteler said. A $5.00 deposit must be made and users are ex pected to pay a 50-cent monthly us age fee. Prices for car-safety seats at local department stores range from $20 up to $60 depending on how they are made. CO-OP FAIR On Monday, October 15, the employers listed be low will have booths in Zacbry Engineering Cen ter. These employers will be primarily interested in hiring co-op students, but if you are interested in either summer employment or full-time em ployment, please feel free to stop by. The Co-op Fair will be held between 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. with the exception of a lunch break from 11:45 to 12:30. Employer LOCATION Dow Chemical, USA Freeport General Dynamics Fort Worth Houston Lighting & Power Houston IBM Corporation AustinyClear Lake Lockheed Missiles & Space Austin MCI Telecommunications Richardson Motorola Austin NASA-Johnson Space Center Clear Lake National Security Agency Washington, D.C. Rockwell International Dallas TRW-Optron Carrollton Trane Co., Inc. Tyler U.S. Army Aviation Center Fort Rucker, AL . — - Battalion Classified 845-2611 » # # ■ II # f % INTERNATIONAL HOUSE •'***« RESTAURANT % Offer expires October 31,1984 Golden Rotisserie Chicken Dinner *2.99 Includes Soup or Salad, Vegetable, Potato, Roll and Butter. Good Everyday After 11 A.M. At (IP Skaggs Center; Vi * *1 m & r o ■ m MM i 0 wise Cateteria 4^ Now Better Than Ever. You Will Be Pleased With These Carefully Prepared and Taste Tempting Foods. Each Daily Special Only $2.59 Plus Tax. “Open Daily” Dining: 11 A.M. to 1:30 P.M.—4:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. MONDAY EVENING SPECIAL Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy Whipped Potatoes Your Choic e of One Vegetable Roll or Corn Bread & Butter Coffee or Tea TUESDAY EVENING SPECIAL Mexican Fiesta Dinner Two Cheese and Onion Enchiladas w/Chili Mexican Rice Patio Style Pinto Beans Tostadas Coffee or Tea One Corn Bread and Butter WEDNESDAY EVENING SPECIAL Chicken Fried Steak w/Cream Gravy Whipped Potatoes and Choice of one other Vegetable Roll or Corn Bread and Butter Coffee or Tea THURSDAY EVENING SPECIAL Italian Candle Light Spaghetti Dinner SERVED WITH SPICED MEAT BALLS AND SAUCE Parmesan Cheese- Tossed Green Salad Choice of Salad Dressing—Hot Garlic Bread Tea or Coffee FOR YOUR PROTECTION OUR PERSONNEL HAVE HEALTH CARDS FRIDAY EVENING SPECIAL Fried Catfish Filet w/T artar Sauce Cole Slaw Hush Puppies Choice of One Vegetable Roll or Corn Bread & Butter Tea or Coffee SATURDAY NOON and EVENING SPECIAL Yankee Pot Roast Texas Style (Tossed Salad) Mashed Potatoes w/Gravy Roll or Corn Bread & Butter Tea or Coffee “Quality First’ SUNDAY SPECIAL NOON and EVENING Roast Turkey Dinner Served with Cranberry Sauce Cornbread Dressing Roll or Corn Bread & Butter Coffee or Tea Giblet Gravy And Your Choice of any One Vegetable