Several recent polls have provided a view of how San Diegans feel about their neighbors to the south — Tijuana. The questions asked did not touch on how much respondents knew about cooperative efforts between citizens of our two communities. The likelihood that such questions would have brought an “I don’t know” response is high, simply because such efforts are typically undertaken without glamour and pomp by caring people of goodwill immune to the whims of polls.

One such undertaking is, to my knowledge, the only nongovernmental trilateral effort involving Canadian, U.S. and Mexican citizens benefiting children from both the San Diego region and Baja California, Hospital Infantil de las Californias.

The Children’s Hospital of the Californias, built in Tijuana within a half-mile of the Otay Mesa port of entry, provides state-of-the-art medical care for children living on both sides of the border.

On the U.S. side, the Foundation for the Children of the Californias was organized to raise funds and recruit doctors and other health practitioners as volunteers to work alongside Mexican doctors who also volunteer their time. On the Mexican side Fundacion para los Niños de las Californias was organized in 1994 as part of its first telethon in Mexico. The telethon brought in enough donations in one day to build the initial 2,000-square-foot Pediatric Specialty Clinic. Then came the Foundation of Canadian Friends of the Children of the Californias, from where a significant percentage of donated funds have since come, along with many volunteers.

John and Rebecca Moores learned about the effort and became major boosters. At 7:05 p.m. May 1, when the Padres play the New York Mets at Petco Park, a portion of the game receipts will be donated to the hospital. Joining the Padres are the 120 McDonald’s restaurants in San Diego and Tijuana. The restaurants will distribute more than 1 million tray liners to raise awareness for the hospital’s fund-raising efforts and the work done for the children. Other major sponsors of this trinational effort are Mattel Corp., Coca-Cola, Qualcomm, Televisa, Univision, K-Love Radio and La Nueva Radio. The list continues to grow.

How this effort came about is a story of people who care. It starts with Canadian-born Dr. Elizabeth “Betty” Jones and her husband, Dr. Bob Jones, longtime residents of San Diego. While studying Spanish at USD in 1976, her professor, a nun, sent Betty to Tijuana at the then Project Concern Hospital two days a week. There she met a San Diegan, Dr. Patricia Dunklee, who took Betty under her wing, became her mentor, life model, and lifelong friend. Dr. Dunklee passed away in 2003, but until her death she was helping children in the region. She was last involved with Father Joe Carroll’s children in his village.

In 1993, then Baja California Gov. Ernesto Ruffo, another person who cares about the foundation and its efforts, arranged for the state to donate the land it presently occupies. This led to the telethon and street solicitations that raised the initial money to construct the 2,000-square-foot Pediatric Specialty Clinic. In 1996 a day-surgery and an ophthalmology clinic was added as well as a student intern program.

During 2000, $2.5 million was raised to construct a 20,000-square-foot ambulatory building with examination rooms, physical therapy and rehabilitation suite, laboratory and X-ray departments, multimedia education center, library, conference rooms and administrative offices. Opening the new wing allowed the original building to be converted into a dental clinic and pharmacy.

The medical complex has provided more than 100,000 consultations in 42 specialties, 3,000 surgeries — orthopedic, ophthalmologic and cleft palate surgeries are among the most common — and 30,000 hours of health education.

The Hospital Infantil provides comparable care at a fraction of the cost of U.S. hospitals, due in large part to the volunteer efforts of 145 of the area’s finest pediatric specialists. Only six physicians are paid for their services. Of the 300 staff members only 20 percent are paid.

The hospital serves nearly 3,000 patients per month and no child ever has been turned away if a specialist is available. Of these, 25 percent pay 100 percent of their bill; 65 percent need a subsidy; and 10 percent need full assistance.

Now the Hospital Infantil is raising $10 million to expand by 40,000 square feet to add special care and urgent care units, short-stay hospitalization with 35 beds, and three operating rooms. When completed, it will be a full-service hospital.

The efforts of caring people are what make the potential of our region great. Whether you live in San Diego or Tijuana, Drs. Betty Jones and Gabriel Chong invite you to join in this effort. For information, call (858) 720-0381 in San Diego or 623-8180 in Tijuana.

Patrick Osio Jr. can be reached at posiojr@sandiegometro.com. The veteran consultant also has issued The Mexican Perspective, an intensive primer on business culture and protocol. Copies are available at http://www.hispanicvista.com/sales/book_sale.htm.