Medical care at the U.S. border has been determined to be "unsafe" by investigators who were investigating the May death of an 8-year-old migrant girl, The Washington Post reported June 22.
The update comes just one week after the removal and reassignment of David Tarantino, MD, former chief medical officer for U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
According to the Post, a memo from the Department of Homeland Security, which was investigating the incident, stated that the Border Patrol station where the migrant girl was placed before her death "lacked sufficient medical engagement and accountability to ensure safe, effective, humane and well-documented medical care."
A separate investigation is also being led by U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Office of Professional Responsibility, but is lagging behind due to a lack of usable video evidence from inside the facility, the Post reported.
Since DHS' memo revealed these findings, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol said it has explicitly told its medical contractor, Loyal Source Government Services, to address the issues immediately.
DHS also called on the agency to develop and implement a medical care manual within 90 days to "ensure information sharing and accountability at shift change for medically at-risk individuals in CBP custody," according to the Post.