PREVENTING & STOPPING CHILD ABUSE; HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN VALLEY TO BE ADDRESSED AT FORENSIC CONFERENCE

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1 PRESS RELEASE / PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT Contact: Teri Retana, Asst. Vice President for Marketing & Communications Valley Baptist Health System Phone: (956) or teri.retana@valleybaptist.net PREVENTING & STOPPING CHILD ABUSE; HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN VALLEY TO BE ADDRESSED AT FORENSIC CONFERENCE Conference hosted by Valley Baptist; hospital also has response team to help abuse victims with medical care SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Oct Child abuse prevention, intervention and investigation in the Valley including human trafficking situations involving unaccompanied minors coming to the Valley from Central American countries - will be addressed during the 11th Annual Rio Grande Valley Seminar in Forensic Sciences, which will be held Wednesday, Nov. 5 through Friday, Nov. 7 at the Isla Grand Beach Resort, 500 Padre Boulevard on South Padre Island. The symposium, which is hosted by Valley Baptist Health System, will provide current information to those involved in child abuse investigations, including law enforcement officers, Child Protective Services workers, social workers, attorneys, nurses, pediatricians, medical examiners, forensic pathologists, coroners, psychologists, EMS personnel, school and day care personnel, clergy, and other professionals. The special three-day conference will address ways to prevent child abuse, techniques used in child death investigations, and other current issues involving child abuse. In addition to sponsoring the annual conference, Valley Baptist is also helping in the fight against child abuse by operating the Valley s first Child to Adult Abuse Response Team (CAART) program to help abused children, adolescents and adults

2 with immediate medical care, assessment of abuse, and assistance in accessing the services they need to stop abuse. The program includes a special treatment room for victims of violence at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Harlingen. The CAART helps provide medical forensic services for the Valley, and includes a Forensic Nurse Examiner Program, which provides medical forensic examinations of child, adolescent and adult sexual assault victims 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Dr. Stan Fisch, Pediatrician and Medical Director of the CAART team at Valley Baptist, said the forensics seminar will help attendees become better prepared to deal with the many issues surrounding injuries to children and help provide a basis for the prevention of child abuse. Speakers for the conference will include Rosalva Resendiz, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at UT-Pan American, who will discuss human rights and human trafficking concerns, including as it relates to hundreds of unaccompanied minors who have come to the Valley in recent months from Central American countries. She will speak on the first day of the conference, Wed., Nov. 5, at 1 p.m. On the second day of the conference, Thursday, Nov. 6 at 1 p.m., there will be a presentation on The Predator Next Door Empowering Children is the Key to Prevention, by Darlene Ellison, MS, a nationally-know children s advocate, motivational speaker and author from Dallas. Also on Thursday, Nov. 6, there will be a presentation at 2 p.m. on screening for child abuse by Dr. Daniel Lindberg, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine; a talk at 8:15 a.m. on Drug-facilitated Sexual Assault by Lyndel Williams, training director for the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault; and a presentation on How Sex Offenders Groom at 3:30 p.m. by Jim Tanner, Ph. D. of Colorado, who is nationally known for his work in computer forensics. On the final day of the conference, Friday, Nov. 7, Dr. Nancy Kellogg of UT Health Science Center-San Antonio, will speak at 9:15 a.m. on Disclosure of Sexual Abuse, followed by a talk at 10:30 a.m. by an award-winning economist, Ray Perryman, Ph. D. of Waco, on the Economic Costs of Child Abuse. Continuing education credits for the seminar will be available for nurses, social workers, physicians, law enforcement officers, attorneys, judges, licensed professional counselors, and licensed marriage and family therapists. The seminar is sponsored by Valley Baptist Health System, the Blue Sunday child abuse prevention program, and the Child Abuse Education Program of South Texas. For more information, as well as registration and fees, please call Stephanie Hamby at (956) , or visit

3 PHOTO CHILD ABUSE CONFERENCE FOR VALLEY Child abuse prevention, intervention and investigation in the Valley will be addressed during the RGV Seminar in Forensic Sciences, which will be held Nov. 5-7 at the Isla Grand Beach Resort on South Padre Island. Discussing plans for the annual conference, above, are Pat Palomo, RN, of the Valley Baptist Medical Center Nursing Education Department; Melanie Machen, Executive Assistant at Valley Baptist-Harlingen; Dr. Stan Fisch, Pediatrician and Medical Director of the Child to Adult Abuse Response Team at Valley Baptist; Stephanie Hamby of the Valley Baptist School of Vocational Nursing; Marina Yzaguirre, Child Protective Services Program Administrator for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services in Edinburg; and Marcia Fuller, MHAN, BSN, CEN, CPEN, Education Specialist with Valley Baptist.

4 PHOTO Sonja Eddleman, RN, Certified Forensic Nurse, CARE Team Clinical Coordinator at Driscoll Children s Hospital and Clinical Manager for the Child to Adult Abuse Response Team Program at Valley Baptist Medical Center-Harlingen, demonstrates use of the colposcope, which is used to help gather evidence in suspected cases of sexual assault.

5 About Valley Baptist Health System Valley Baptist Health System is an 866-bed faith-based regional health system located in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. It is focused on helping people achieve health for life through compassionate service inspired by faith. Valley Baptist extends many of its services beyond its facilities and into local communities, offering free screenings for the community, support groups and numerous educational opportunities. For more information, visit (and