El Paso has few pediatric endocrinologists to keep up with growing need

El Paso mother Jennifer Oguete calls her daughter her miracle baby.

Oguete’s daughter, Jaelynn, was born in El Paso at 29 weeks. The baby weighed 2 pounds and made a whimper of a cry before the delivery team rushed her to the NICU. Jaelynn was bald, brown eyed and “just a teeny tiny thing,” Oguete described.

A year later, Jaelynn’s general pediatrician diagnosed her with failure to thrive, a condition that describes infants and children who aren’t growing at a normal rate. The doctor referred her to Dr. Hector Granados, a pediatric endocrinologist she still sees today.

Jaelynn, who just turned 9, has gotten used to her visits with Granados – first for delayed growth, then hypothyroidism and now Type 1 diabetes. He is one of only two pediatric endocrinologists in El Paso. The other, Dr. Sanjeet Sandhu, works at Granados’ private practice where they receive an estimated average of 200 new patient referrals a month, Granados said.

But a pending lawsuit from the office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton now threatens Granados’ medical license and could force families to find another health care provider.

Paxton sued Granados on Oct. 29 for allegedly providing gender-affirming treatment to minors. Granados is one of three Texas doctors Paxton accused last year of violating SB 14, a state law that prohibits health care workers from providing puberty blockers or hormones to minors for transitioning genders.

Granados denied the allegations. His attorney, Mark Bracken, filed a motion Nov. 25 to transfer the case from Kaufman County, where it was filed, to El Paso County, where Granados practices.

Bracken, who has Type 1 diabetes, grew up in El Paso. He said his personal experience makes him aware of how the outcome of this case could affect a geographically isolated community that struggles to recruit and retain specialty doctors. His 9-year-old daughter also has Type 1 diabetes and has been a patient of Granados since she was 3.

“El Paso’s a difficult place to recruit professionals and physicians who aren’t from our community and are unfamiliar with it,” Bracken said. “Dr. Granados is from the borderland. Typically, if someone has a connection to our city, that’s our best chance to convince them to move here.  Until people visit and get to know El Paso, they just know what they see on TV or social media.”

Pediatric endocrinologists treat a variety of conditions including diabetes, thyroid disorders, pituitary gland disorders, growth deficiencies, precocious puberty and differences of sexual development.

Outside of El Paso, the next closest pediatric endocrinologists are in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Tucson, Arizona, none of which accept CHIP or Medicaid from patients in Texas.