Bringing Pediatric Orthopaedic Care to Calexico This Holiday Season

Before dawn, before the patients, before the work begins, a quiet moment of preparation. Four hours of desert stretch ahead, and Dr. Scaduto reviews the day’s cases amid the hum of the aircraft cabin.

Touchdown in Calexico. The team crosses the tarmac with purpose, supplies in hand, ready to bring world-class pediatric orthopaedic care to families who would otherwise travel hundreds of miles to receive it.

A stuffed shark stands guard as Dr. Scaduto examines a young patient’s foot. In his hands: decades of expertise. In this room: a child who doesn’t have to be afraid.

Posture, alignment, possibility. A teenage athlete stands still as Dr. Scaduto assesses his spine, a routine check that could shape the trajectory of his future on and off the field.

Medicine is more than diagnosis; it’s connection. A shared laugh between doctor and patient transforms an exam room into a space where healing feels possible.

He listens. In pediatric care, this is everything, meeting a child at eye level, earning trust before making assessments, treating the whole person rather than just the condition.

Complex care requires presence. Dr. Scaduto consults with a young patient whose mobility needs are significant, her specialized chair a reminder that expertise like his doesn’t often reach communities like Calexico.

Three hands, one child. A mother steadies her son as Dr. Scaduto guides him through an exam, a portrait of the partnership between family and physician that defines LuskinOIC’s approach.

Joy, unfiltered. Behind them, X-rays glow on a monitor. Between them, laughter. This is what it looks like when a child feels seen, heard, and hopeful about her future.

Homeward bound. After a morning of back-to-back consultations, Dr. Scaduto’s smile tells the story: tired, fulfilled, already thinking about when they’ll return.

The team that made it happen. As the Calexico sky stretches wide behind them, the LuskinOIC team stands united by a shared conviction: every child deserves access to exceptional care, no matter where they live.

LuskinOIC staff and volunteers from Orthopaedic Medical Magnet High School and Los Amigos brought holiday festivities to patients at the Calexico Border Clinic. Ozzie and Santa joined the fun as every child received toys, LuskinOIC footballs, books and dolls from The Jester & Pharley Fund, and holiday crafts from Las Amigas. The International Children’s Program embodies our commitment to ensuring geography never determines a child’s access to quality orthopaedic care.