SiCKO patients got VIP treatment in Cuba

By Anthony Boadle

HAVANA (Reuters) - Three New York rescue workers injured in the Sept. 11 attacks got the best treatment Cuba can offer in Michael Moore's film critique of U.S. health care, the Cuban doctors who attended them said this week.

The 9/11 responders spent 10 days on the 19th floor of Cuba's flagship hospital with a view of the Caribbean sea, a sharp contrast to many Cuban hospitals that are crumbling, badly lit, and which lack equipment and medicines.

They included a fireman and an emergency medical technician, Regina Cervantes, with respiratory problems caused by inhaling dust and fumes in the World Trade Center ruins.

They were given a barrage of tests, including a psychological evaluation, and new dosages of medication. One got a tooth implant for a jaw fractured at Ground Zero.

The main difference with their treatment in the United States: there was no bill.

"We can't say we did miracles in the few days they were here. What we did was give them the highest quality treatment. It was totally free," said Dr. Nelson Gomez, medical director of the Hermanos Almejeiras Hospital.

"They were not here long, but they did improve." he said.

Cervantes, who rushed to Ground Zero on Sept. 11 and had a badly burnt airway after three days of rescue work, said last month that after being treated in Havana she was taken off medication she could hardly afford in the United States.