LOS ANGELES — June is derived from a Latin word for youth, so it’s not surprising that June is Children’s Awareness Month.
It’s also an important time for the Luskin Orthopaedic Institute for Children in Los Angeles. It’s a historic, nonprofit hospital that offers pro-bono medical services to all children.
No family is turned away.
“LA Times Today” met one patient, Ramses, who has been a patient at Luskin OIC for about a year.
Dr. Tony Scaduto met Ramses when he was 4 years old. Now 5, Ramses is being fitted with a prosthetic on one of his arms.
“He does have the partial presence of the two bones in our forearm, but there is enough bone present here that he’s able to power his elbow, so he’s able to actively flex and extend his elbow. We know these bones are going to become longer in time, but the proportions of his limb are likely to remain the same,” Scaduto said.
Emphasizing the abilities children have rather than their disabilities is important to Scaduto and the staff at Luskin.
As the largest provider of pediatric orthopedics on the West Coast, Luskin OIC, aims to provide academic-level care to an underserved population. Michael Sullivan, vice president of Luskin OIC, explained how Luskin helps children with all kinds of conditions.
“We have a range of orthopedic injuries and conditions that we treat here at Luskin OIC, from the athlete on the soccer field who hurts his knee. And then we have the congenital issues that children are born with. From scoliosis to clubfoot to spinal bifida to cerebral palsy. There’s about 20 subspecialties within the space that we care for kids,” Sullivan said.
The hospital averages about 60,000 patients a year, more than double the size of any other pediatric orthopedic program in LA County.
Sullivan explained how they provide top-notch care for patients who might not otherwise be able to afford it.
“We have very generous individual donors, corporations and foundations helping us sustain our model. Ninety-three percent of our children have a Medi-Cal insurance product. They pay $0.60 on the dollar for care. So at most hospitals, do they keep up a 50/50 ratio of private insured children and Medi-Cal children. And that’s how they make their budgets work. That’s not our mission. We’re a safety net institution with an academic angle,” he said.
Watch the full interview above.
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