A foreign object in a child’s ear led the discovery of foreign children in the small community of Oracle, Arizona. After months of national attention, and federal secrecy, Oracle residents learned last Friday, that the Unaccompanied Alien Children that were expected to settle at the Sycamore Canyon Academy in July, had finally arrived in their community.
They discovered the presence of the minors in the most unusual way.
A frantic grandmother had taken her young grandchild, who had the foreign object lodged in his ear, to a healthcare facility in nearby San Manuel. Staff denied the child care, according to the grandmother, who is an American citizen, because the facility was too busy taking care of the illegal aliens being housed in the Academy.
The grandmother was then forced to drive 35 miles south to the urgent care facility in the community of Oro Valley.
The grandmother, who was described as very upset, related her concerns to community leader Bob Skiba. She told Skiba that at the time of her visit, she had seen 8 young males appearing to be from Central America, all dressed in Sycamore Academy garb, waiting for care. Skiba, a retired executive with an area mining company, visited the Sun Life Healthcare Center to determine why the facility would turn away an American citizen and her suffering grandchild. During his visit, he encountered what he described as 4 “clean cut, young men, between the ages of 12 and 17, dressed in what appeared to be uniforms with 2 staff members from Sycamore Canyon Academy.”
Officials at the facility told Skiba that they would not turn away someone in need and they refused to discuss the matter further with him.
On Tuesday, when asked about the incident, Rachel, a member of the staff, responded to the ADI, “Do you mean the child with a rock in his ear? Our physician called them later and said they would see him.” Rachel said the presence of the boys had nothing to do with the decision. She claimed, “they had AHCCCS, and did not want to change the primary care provider.” As a result, they claim that they recommended that the woman go to urgent care.
While HIPPA laws prevent healthcare providers from sharing this type of information, Rachel was quick to attack the woman on AHCCCS (Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System); the state’s low income healthcare coverage, in order to defend the decision to send the her and her grandchild to urgent care.
On Monday night, residents of the small community met in the Oracle courthouse to discuss their concerns. Cyrus Miller, a community leader in Oracle told James T. Harris, in an interview on 104.1FM KQTH, on Tuesday, that the residents met to discuss the stresses on area healthcare facilities, and what sort of protections and alternatives the community has especially in light of limited healthcare facilities. Miller said that residents are also concerned because the facility has had many escapees in the past who have wreaked havoc in the community and have damaged residents’ personal property.
The rural residents have limited access to communication; with the all-volunteer library being one of the few places which has internet access. As a result, community members are making plans to develop a neighborhood watch in the area.
According to sources, Arizona’s Governor Jan Brewer, who has made name for herself as the tough-on-border-security-scorpion-eater, her staff was securing facilities for the UACs across Arizona long before the arrival of the first wave of UACs at the Nogales Border Patrol Station, contrary to her claims that their arrival was a surprise.