Mexican health authorities said Friday that some of the staffers at the clinic where Coretta Scott King died were not accredited and that several practices at the alternative medical facility put patients at "high risk" — among the reasons it was ordered to suspend operations.
But the officials, who ordered operations to cease Thursday at the Hospital Santa Monica, 16 miles south of San Diego, said they were not alleging any specific wrongdoing in King's death. Twenty patients, all described as foreigners, were given three days to vacate. The U.S. consulate was helping them leave.
Health Secretary Francisco Vera Gonzalez said in a news release that health officials were unaware of the clinic's alternative practices and improper licensing until the glare of publicity surrounding King's death brought them to light.
No conditions for reopening were specified. Clinic officials said they were evaluating what they must do to reopen. and that could take weeks, perhaps months.
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Cesar Castillejos, the clinic's assistant director, insisted Friday that all eight doctors are licensed to practice in Mexico, but he declined to show their accreditation papers. Asked about the allegation that the clinic uses "unconventional treatments," he said the term is in the eye of the beholder.
