Ontario hospitals will remain open to foreign children in need of life-saving surgery — even though U.S. courts have temporarily halted U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel ban that threatened the kids’ care.
Hours before a judge suspended Trump’s controversial restrictions on travellers from seven predominantly Muslim countries Friday, Health Minister Eric Hoskins pledged to help youngsters whose scheduled surgeries in the U.S. were cancelled.
Hoskins said Monday that despite the ruling, both Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children and the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario in Ottawa are gearing up to provide services.
“I am aware of the ongoing legal situation in the U.S.,” the minister told the Star in an email.
“During this period of uncertainty, we remain committed to providing life-saving care to children from affected countries whose surgeries have been canceled and whose families are concerned that they will not have access to specialized pediatric care,” he said.
A physician and co-founder of War Child Canada, Hoskins said most of the affected kids — some as young as 4 months old — require emergency cardiac care.
“While I cannot comment on individual cases, Sick Kids, CHEO, and representatives from my ministry continue their work to determine if we can help. Given that this is a critical time for these ill children we feel the responsibility to act quickly.”
In a statement, Sick Kids noted it has “an active international patient program … that considers humanitarian cases on a case-by-case basis.”
“We are willing to work with the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, and all partners to see what we can practically do to help these families,” the hospital said.
“The assessment of any clinical case that Sick Kids undertakes is thoughtful and comprehensive. This process involves a multi-disciplinary team who reviews the clinical needs of the child, health status of the child, and our capacity to provide care and support for the child and family, without impacting the care of patients in Ontario,” it continued.
“We are not in a position to make any commitments at this time, as the process to assess each case is detailed and comprehensive. Due to patient privacy and confidentiality we are not able to discuss details any further.”
Last month, Trump vowed that refugees would be banned from entering the U.S. for 120 days as part of an “extreme vetting” to cope with supposed terrorists.
The new president also prohibited immigration for three months from seven countries — Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
His edict, which caused international turmoil and has led to tens of thousands of people having their visas revoked, was overruled by a U.S. District Court judge in Seattle after legal challenges by the states of Washington and Minnesota.
The New York Times reported Monday that Trump’s ban would also impact more than 15,000 doctors in the U.S. who hail from the seven countries.
That includes about 9,000 from Iran, around 3,500 from Syria, and more than 1,500 from Iraq. Many work in under-serviced small cities and rural areas stateside.
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