SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — “We are down here by the border. We have a huge, underserved population. Someone needs to speak on their behalf. They need a voice,” said Dr. Kimberly Dickson.
That’s exactly what Kimberly and her husband Matthew Dickson are doing.
They are the co-owners of South Bay Urgent Care in Imperial Beach.
“Something has changed over the last two years. There is so much sewage coming across the border and into our community. Now people are getting sick without going into the ocean. That is the thing that scares me the most,” said Matthew Dickson.
The Dicksons say when there is a big storm, they see a significant increase in patients with gastrointestinal diseases. They started tracking it last August, after tropical storm Hilary.
“We are down here, boots on the ground. It triggered an alarm for us. Normally we see five patients. All of a sudden, we see 500% more patients with diarrhea,” said Kimberly.
The Dicksons say that trend has continued with the most recent storm on January 22nd.
“You have sewage in our community, in our streets or parks. If you drive through it and touch it, or take your shoes off. You make dinner without washing your hands. That’s how you get sick,” said Matthew.
ABC 10 News Anchor Aaron Dickens reached out to San Diego County. County Officials said doctors and emergency rooms across the South Bay are not seeing an uptick in these types of diseases. But officials tell us they are working with the clinic.
The county is using the Dicksons’ data, doing its own research.
Researchers started in September and hope to wrap up this week.
“We are also working with UCSD researchers. They are looking at the correlations as well. Hopefully, we can come up with a solution,” Kimberly added.
They say the solution is using the data to get the attention of Washington and funding for a permanent fix.
