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South Coast Hospital Expansion Comes Just In Time For Five Year Old Facing Death

Five year old Jacob Suarez of Oxnard was seriously injured when he was hit by a vehicle in October, but newly available treatment at Ventura County medical Center saved his spleen, and perhaps his life

It’s a parent’s nightmare.

A five year old boy is so excited to see his father that he runs into the family’s driveway as the father drives into it, striking the child. That’s what happened to Jacob Suarez of Oxnard on August 20th.  But, a newly available treatment at a revamped Ventura County hospital saved his spleen, and perhaps his life.

The little boy was taken to Ventura County Medical Center.

Emergency room physician Dr. Allison Binkowski saw Jacob, and tests showed he had a number of serious injuries. Jacob’s mother, Josephina says VCMC’s medical team told them the most serious injury was to the boy’s spleen, which was bleeding.

This is where fate intervened, but in a very good way. A long awaited $300 million dollar wing opened at the VCMC the morning of the accident, which an new ER, new intensive care beds, new patient rooms, and most importantly in Jacob’s case, a new Interventional Radiology suite.

Dr. Michael Hepfer is an interventional radiologist at VCMC. He says the new unit is equipped with specialized sized equipment to treat children, as well as adults. He was able to use a non-surgical technique to stop the bleeding. The treatment saved the boy’s spleen, and perhaps his life.

Had the accident happened just a day earlier, the story would have probably been much different. Dr. Javier Romero , who is VCMC’s Director of Surgery, says they would have probably had to remove the boy’s spleen.

VCMC Chief Medical Officer Bryan Wong says the new, state of the art facilities and expanded staff gives Ventura County residents faster, and more specialized treatment which can save lives. Wong says it also means more people won’t have to go elsewhere like they did in the past for specialized care:

Josephina Suarez says she’s grateful that VCMC had the ability to provide the specialized emergency treatment her son Jacob needed. After receiving the emergency treatment, he was sent to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara for a few days of observation, but was home in three days.

Jacob Suarez says while he doesn’t remember much, he’s grateful to everyone who took care of him.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral. 
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