PSU: Lecture to introduce Center for the Protection of Children

Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital will introduce the Penn State Hershey Center for the Protection of Children to the Penn State community, children’s advocacy groups and other community stakeholders with a lecture by a nationally known child abuse expert on March 22.

Richard D. Krugman, vice chancellor for health affairs for the University of Colorado Denver and dean of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, will present “Child Abuse and Gaze Aversion: How to prevent them” at 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 22, in the Junker Auditorium on the campus of Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. A professor of pediatrics, Krugman served as director of the C. Henry Kempe National Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect from 1981-1992 before becoming dean of the School of Medicine and has gained international prominence in the field of child abuse.

Krugman is a graduate of Princeton University and earned his medical degree at New York University School of Medicine. A board-certified pediatrician, he did his internship and residency in pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Krugman has earned many honors in the field of child abuse and neglect and headed the U.S. Advisory Board of Child Abuse and Neglect from 1988 to 1991. He has authored more than 100 original papers, chapters and editorials, and four books, and he recently stepped down after 15 years as editor-in-chief of Child Abuse and Neglect: The International Journal.

Recognizing the need for better prevention, detection and treatment of child maltreatment, as well as the need to implement these insights through clinical care, education and policy, Penn State, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State College of Medicine launched the Center for the Protection of Children in December 2011. The center draws on the resources of Penn State Hershey Children’s Hospital and the recently enhanced capabilities of experts in child protection.

Child maltreatment causes lifelong medical and mental health consequences, yet many cases of abuse and neglect go undetected, and a significant percentage of those that are recognized are evaluated and treated by professionals with little or no expertise in child abuse and traumatic stress. The statistics are staggering. And as victims grow, so do their chances of developing self-destructive lifestyles and habits, early chronic illness, disability and premature death.

By establishing an alliance of clinicians, scientists, legal scholars and educators to focus on improving detection, treatment and prevention of child maltreatment, the Penn State Hershey Center for the Protection of Children will bridge these gaps and become a national leader in clinical care, research, education and direction of policy.


Original source here.