Corona Community Takes the Lead Against Pediatrics Closure

August 2013

“A crowd of about a hundred parents, nurses and residents,” by estimate of The Riverside Press-Enterprise, packed the Corona City Council on Wednesday August 21 to support Corona’s pediatrics unit. Many gave strong and moving testimony.

PTA leaders challenged CEO Kevan Metcalfe outside afterwards, and vowed to escalate efforts to save accessible pediatrics care for the Corona-Norco area.

"I have a younger daughter who is severely asthmatic. Getting her there is very important, I need to do it fast, because there are special medications that they can give her that I can’t."
—Heidi Pyle, PTA Council President

"Minutes can make the difference between life and death for a child. Travel times, even in an ambulance, can be lengthy. None of us wants to see a child die because the administration of the hospital wanted to save a few dollars."
—Timothy, RN, Loma Linda University Medical Center, formerly at Corona Regional for 15 years

"I’m here representing Corona-Norco PTA. But mostly I’m here to represent the children. We need to have local access for small children, to make sure we can be with them, because it’s a scary time when a child is injured or has a disease."
—Christine Renship, Corona-Norco PTA

“I think it’s a public health disservice to the City of Corona, and to the babies, the kids, to close the unit. The nursing staff at this hospital is very experienced.”
—Dr. Hilario Milao, Pediatric Cardiologist, CRMC

"I am strenuously asking the hospital to reconsider its position on this."
—Stan Skipworth, Corona City Council