I spend my entire career trying to get justice for those who have suffered brain damage because of the wrongful conduct of others. How frustrating for me as a lawyer, how scary for me as a parent to read about the latest phenomenon among our young people. The so-called “choking game” has become such a concern that newspapers across the country have been writing about it, including The New York Times and The Star-Ledger of Newark. N.J., last week.
Although the choking game may be a mystery to you, it may not be one to your kids, as The Times points out in its story, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/23/health/research/22choke.html?scp=1&sq;=brain%20damage&st;=cse.
The practice, which can lead to brain damage, is also know as “pass out” or “space monkey,” according to the Ledger’s story, http://www.nj.com/parenting/lee_lusardiconnor/index.ssf/2010/01/the_choking_game_should_you_question_your_kids.html.
In the choking game pressure is applied to the neck, by oneself using a belt or scarf, or someone else doing it. The brain’s lack of oxygen leads to a euphoria or “high” for the person being strangled. Some go so far as to seek to become unconscious, because when they come to they get another high.
But it can be a deadly game at the very worse, and cause brain damage at the worse. The “game” has been blamed dozens of adolescent deaths across the country, according to The Times.
A new statewide survey, from Oregon, sparked the recent press coverage of the phenomenon. The rather astounding results published by The Times were that one in three eighth graders in Oregon have heard of the choking game, and 1 in 20 have taken part in it. Youths in rural areas were more likely to have tried it.
The not-so-fun choking game has caused an estimated 82 deaths from 1995 to 2007, according to s survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, The Times reported. Most of those deaths were of males 11 to 16 years.
Hospital told to pay damages for mistaking babies
Even under American law, this would be a tough case to determine damages. How does a couple effectively argue that they have been wronged for loving a child for 16 years, even if it is the wrong child? Similar issues have thwarted efforts to get compensation for botched birth control methods as well. But those issues notwithstanding, $55,793 for giving a couple the wrong child, seems a little on the light side.
What happened to the other child? Isn’t that a form of kidnapping?
And what about the other family?
Attorney Gordon Johnson
http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com
http://fishtail.tv
Date: 7/20/2009 7:08 AM
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court has ordered a hospital to pay 70 million won ($55,793) in damages to a couple that raised the wrong daughter for 16 years because of a hospital mistake.
Seoul Central District court judge Kim Sung-soo said Monday the court made the ruling earlier this month. He did not give details.
Local media say the couple gave birth to a baby girl at the hospital in 1992. They began suspecting she may not be their daughter because her blood type A did not match theirs.
A DNA test confirmed their suspicions and the hospital acknowledged their mistake last year.
The hospital is refusing to disclose information on their biological daughter citing privacy.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
What happened to the other child? Isn’t that a form of kidnapping?
And what about the other family?
Attorney Gordon Johnson
http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com
http://fishtail.tv
Date: 7/20/2009 7:08 AM
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court has ordered a hospital to pay 70 million won ($55,793) in damages to a couple that raised the wrong daughter for 16 years because of a hospital mistake.
Seoul Central District court judge Kim Sung-soo said Monday the court made the ruling earlier this month. He did not give details.
Local media say the couple gave birth to a baby girl at the hospital in 1992. They began suspecting she may not be their daughter because her blood type A did not match theirs.
A DNA test confirmed their suspicions and the hospital acknowledged their mistake last year.
The hospital is refusing to disclose information on their biological daughter citing privacy.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
Obama Appoints Black Woman Surgeon General
Ironically, as the first Hispanic woman appointed to the Supreme Court begins her nomination, Barack Obama announces a black woman to be the new Surgeon General. Clearly, Obama finds exceptionally well qualified women to fill these important posts.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com
Date: 7/13/2009 10:04 AM
BC-US–Surgeon General/131
Eds: APNewsNow. Will be led.
BC-US–Surgeon General, US
LAURAN NEERGAARD,AP Medical Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press has learned that President Barack Obama has chosen a well-known Alabama family physician, Dr. Regina Benjamin, to be the next surgeon general.
An administration official said Obama will announce the nomination later Monday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to upstage the official announcement.
Benjamin was the first black woman to head a state medical society, received the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights and just last fall received a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant.” But she made headlines in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, with her determination to rebuild her rural health clinic Bayou La Batre, Ala., which serves 4,400 patients who would be hard-pressed to find care elsewhere.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com
Date: 7/13/2009 10:04 AM
BC-US–Surgeon General/131
Eds: APNewsNow. Will be led.
BC-US–Surgeon General, US
LAURAN NEERGAARD,AP Medical Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Associated Press has learned that President Barack Obama has chosen a well-known Alabama family physician, Dr. Regina Benjamin, to be the next surgeon general.
An administration official said Obama will announce the nomination later Monday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to upstage the official announcement.
Benjamin was the first black woman to head a state medical society, received the Nelson Mandela Award for Health and Human Rights and just last fall received a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant.” But she made headlines in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, with her determination to rebuild her rural health clinic Bayou La Batre, Ala., which serves 4,400 patients who would be hard-pressed to find care elsewhere.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
TV ad war begins over health overhaul
Date: 7/6/2009 5:40 PM
EDITOR’S NOTE — An occasional look at political ads and what’s behind them.
By ALAN FRAM
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Staring at the camera, Canadian citizen Shona Holmes says a brain tumor would have killed her had she relied on her government-run health plan that would have provided treatment far too late. “Now, Washington wants to bring Canadian-style health care to the U.S.,” a narrator says darkly.
The television ad from a conservative group is dramatic — but deceptive.
In fact, President Barack Obama and Democrats pushing to overhaul health care want to create an optional, government-run plan to compete with private insurers, not replace them. As Obama told a health forum last week, “We’re not suddenly just going to completely upend the system. We want to build on what works about the system and fix what’s broken about the system.”
The ad is part of a handful of commercials that are expected to grow this summer in both numbers and criticism as detailed health bills emerge from Congress and dozens of interest groups, companies and labor unions tussle over influencing lawmakers.
Through June 27, $31 million has been spent for roughly 47,000 TV ads on health care this year, says Evan Tracey, president of the Campaign Media Analysis Group, a firm that tracks issue advertising. That’s double the roughly $14 million the insurance industry spent in 1993 and 1994 for the famous “Harry and Louise” ads credited with helping kill President Bill Clinton’s health care drive, but a fraction of the $250 million Tracey guesses will ultimately be spent this year.
Hoping to shape the early debate, the initial ads are “really being aimed at some people in the administration, some people on Capitol Hill, a whole bunch of reporters, a few bloggers,” Tracey said. As Congress’ direction becomes clearer and interest groups seek public support, “then I think you’re going to see the spending go on a hockey stick curve straight up,” he said.
So far, Tracey said about $15 million has been spent on ads favoring the Democrats’ push to revamp the health care system and $4 million to oppose it. Another $12 million has gone to ads generally favoring better health care — nearly all of it by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, representing drug makers, which hopes its market will expand if more people have insurance.
These figures might be too low, with several groups reporting higher figures reflecting costs Tracey doesn’t track.
Ken Johnson, spokesman for the pharmaceutical group, says the association has spent tens of millions on television ads since late 2008, thanking lawmakers for supporting previous health initiatives or urging them to support a comprehensive effort this year.
“It’s conditioning the environment, it’s setting the table for the debate to come,” he said.
The ad with Shona Holmes — who says she borrowed and saved money for a crucial operation in the United States — exemplifies how groups are intent on bending the debate toward their agendas.
Its sponsor, Patients United Now, is an offshoot of the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, a privately funded, Washington-based conservative group that believes in limited government and cutting taxes. Among its directors are businessman and conservative activist Art Pope and James C. Miller, a top Reagan administration official.
The group says it has spent nearly $1.8 million running the ad in Washington, D.C., and 11 states with senators on committees writing health care bills or ones seen as wavering. Patients United spokeswoman Amy Menefee says the ad is fair because giving government more control over health care would be a slippery slope toward increasing the federal role, and because some Democrats still favor government-only insurance.
Dominating the spending among opponents is Conservatives for Patients Rights, led and largely financed by Rick Scott, who was ousted as chief of the Columbia/HCA health care company during a fraud probe that ultimately saw the firm plead guilty to overbilling charges. Spokesman Brian Burgess says the group has spent over $4.5 million on TV ads that have run hundreds of times this year, mostly criticizing public health coverage.
On the other side, progressive and labor groups have not been shy about using ads to assail Democrats viewed as insufficiently loyal in the struggle.
Health Care for America Now says it plans to spend $11 million on TV ads. The group is funded by labor, liberal groups and the progressive Atlantic Philanthropies, an international grant-making foundation whose president, Gara LaMarche, worked previously for billionaire Democratic donor George Soros.
Its latest ad: A $1.1 million campaign aimed at prodding senators of both parties from 10 states to support a public health insurance option. Targets include Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who HCAN says has not shown strong enough support for the government-run option.
“Tell Senator Wyden, it’s your health, it should be your choice,” the ad says.
MoveOn.org and other liberal groups began airing a 60-second ad on Friday in Louisiana criticizing Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., for not yet embracing a public insurance plan. They also dropped plans to run ads challenging Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., after she expressed support for a bill containing a government insurance option.
Last Tuesday, the Laborers International Union of North America began airing ads in the home states of Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Kent Conrad, D-N.D., criticizing them for considering a tax on workers’ employer-provided medical benefits to help finance the overhaul.
Union spokesman Jacob Hay says the ads, which had been scheduled to run through Friday, were pulled after a request from Baucus aides. Baucus has agreed to meet with the union’s president, Terence O’Sullivan, to discuss the legislation.
“Ads really do get their attention quickly,” Hay said.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
EDITOR’S NOTE — An occasional look at political ads and what’s behind them.
By ALAN FRAM
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — Staring at the camera, Canadian citizen Shona Holmes says a brain tumor would have killed her had she relied on her government-run health plan that would have provided treatment far too late. “Now, Washington wants to bring Canadian-style health care to the U.S.,” a narrator says darkly.
The television ad from a conservative group is dramatic — but deceptive.
In fact, President Barack Obama and Democrats pushing to overhaul health care want to create an optional, government-run plan to compete with private insurers, not replace them. As Obama told a health forum last week, “We’re not suddenly just going to completely upend the system. We want to build on what works about the system and fix what’s broken about the system.”
The ad is part of a handful of commercials that are expected to grow this summer in both numbers and criticism as detailed health bills emerge from Congress and dozens of interest groups, companies and labor unions tussle over influencing lawmakers.
Through June 27, $31 million has been spent for roughly 47,000 TV ads on health care this year, says Evan Tracey, president of the Campaign Media Analysis Group, a firm that tracks issue advertising. That’s double the roughly $14 million the insurance industry spent in 1993 and 1994 for the famous “Harry and Louise” ads credited with helping kill President Bill Clinton’s health care drive, but a fraction of the $250 million Tracey guesses will ultimately be spent this year.
Hoping to shape the early debate, the initial ads are “really being aimed at some people in the administration, some people on Capitol Hill, a whole bunch of reporters, a few bloggers,” Tracey said. As Congress’ direction becomes clearer and interest groups seek public support, “then I think you’re going to see the spending go on a hockey stick curve straight up,” he said.
So far, Tracey said about $15 million has been spent on ads favoring the Democrats’ push to revamp the health care system and $4 million to oppose it. Another $12 million has gone to ads generally favoring better health care — nearly all of it by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, representing drug makers, which hopes its market will expand if more people have insurance.
These figures might be too low, with several groups reporting higher figures reflecting costs Tracey doesn’t track.
Ken Johnson, spokesman for the pharmaceutical group, says the association has spent tens of millions on television ads since late 2008, thanking lawmakers for supporting previous health initiatives or urging them to support a comprehensive effort this year.
“It’s conditioning the environment, it’s setting the table for the debate to come,” he said.
The ad with Shona Holmes — who says she borrowed and saved money for a crucial operation in the United States — exemplifies how groups are intent on bending the debate toward their agendas.
Its sponsor, Patients United Now, is an offshoot of the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, a privately funded, Washington-based conservative group that believes in limited government and cutting taxes. Among its directors are businessman and conservative activist Art Pope and James C. Miller, a top Reagan administration official.
The group says it has spent nearly $1.8 million running the ad in Washington, D.C., and 11 states with senators on committees writing health care bills or ones seen as wavering. Patients United spokeswoman Amy Menefee says the ad is fair because giving government more control over health care would be a slippery slope toward increasing the federal role, and because some Democrats still favor government-only insurance.
Dominating the spending among opponents is Conservatives for Patients Rights, led and largely financed by Rick Scott, who was ousted as chief of the Columbia/HCA health care company during a fraud probe that ultimately saw the firm plead guilty to overbilling charges. Spokesman Brian Burgess says the group has spent over $4.5 million on TV ads that have run hundreds of times this year, mostly criticizing public health coverage.
On the other side, progressive and labor groups have not been shy about using ads to assail Democrats viewed as insufficiently loyal in the struggle.
Health Care for America Now says it plans to spend $11 million on TV ads. The group is funded by labor, liberal groups and the progressive Atlantic Philanthropies, an international grant-making foundation whose president, Gara LaMarche, worked previously for billionaire Democratic donor George Soros.
Its latest ad: A $1.1 million campaign aimed at prodding senators of both parties from 10 states to support a public health insurance option. Targets include Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who HCAN says has not shown strong enough support for the government-run option.
“Tell Senator Wyden, it’s your health, it should be your choice,” the ad says.
MoveOn.org and other liberal groups began airing a 60-second ad on Friday in Louisiana criticizing Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., for not yet embracing a public insurance plan. They also dropped plans to run ads challenging Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., after she expressed support for a bill containing a government insurance option.
Last Tuesday, the Laborers International Union of North America began airing ads in the home states of Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Kent Conrad, D-N.D., criticizing them for considering a tax on workers’ employer-provided medical benefits to help finance the overhaul.
Union spokesman Jacob Hay says the ads, which had been scheduled to run through Friday, were pulled after a request from Baucus aides. Baucus has agreed to meet with the union’s president, Terence O’Sullivan, to discuss the legislation.
“Ads really do get their attention quickly,” Hay said.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
Scrub tech may have exposed thousands to hepatitis
Date: 7/2/2009 11:56 PM
DENVER (AP) — A former surgery technician may have exposed thousands of Colorado patients to hepatitis C when she swapped her own dirty syringes for ones filled with a powerful narcotic, federal authorities said Thursday.
Kristen Diane Parker faces criminal charges for allegedly making the swaps while working at Audubon Ambulatory Surgery Center in Colorado Springs and Rose Medical Center in Denver.
Authorities say Parker admitted to changing out syringes containing a saline solution with ones filled with the painkiller Fentanyl. Parker injected herself with the drug, according to a complaint filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Denver.
An affidavit by Mary F. LaFrance, an investigator for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, says at least nine surgery patients at Rose have tested positive for hepatitis C, which is incurable. About 6,000 patients are being advised they may have been exposed and need to be tested.
Hepatitis C is a blood-borne disease that can cause serious liver problems, including cirrhosis or liver cancer. The illness is treatable, but there is no cure. Symptoms can include nausea, diarrhea, fatigue, pain and jaundice.
Rose Medical Center officials told a news conference Thursday night they were working with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to determine whether Parker was the source of the virus.
It could not be determined Thursday night whether Parker had an attorney.
Parker worked at Rose from Oct. 21, 2008, until April. Hospital officials say she was suspended April 13, before they learned of the cases, and then fired. She had failed a drug test by testing positive for Fentanyl.
Parker went to work for the Audubon surgery center shortly after being fired. She worked there from May 4 until Monday, Dr. J. Michael Hall, Audubon’s medical director, told The Gazette in Colorado Springs.
If convicted of tampering with a consumer product and other charges, she faces up to 10 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine on the most serious charge of tampering.
___
Information from: The Gazette, http://www.gazette.com
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
DENVER (AP) — A former surgery technician may have exposed thousands of Colorado patients to hepatitis C when she swapped her own dirty syringes for ones filled with a powerful narcotic, federal authorities said Thursday.
Kristen Diane Parker faces criminal charges for allegedly making the swaps while working at Audubon Ambulatory Surgery Center in Colorado Springs and Rose Medical Center in Denver.
Authorities say Parker admitted to changing out syringes containing a saline solution with ones filled with the painkiller Fentanyl. Parker injected herself with the drug, according to a complaint filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Denver.
An affidavit by Mary F. LaFrance, an investigator for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, says at least nine surgery patients at Rose have tested positive for hepatitis C, which is incurable. About 6,000 patients are being advised they may have been exposed and need to be tested.
Hepatitis C is a blood-borne disease that can cause serious liver problems, including cirrhosis or liver cancer. The illness is treatable, but there is no cure. Symptoms can include nausea, diarrhea, fatigue, pain and jaundice.
Rose Medical Center officials told a news conference Thursday night they were working with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment to determine whether Parker was the source of the virus.
It could not be determined Thursday night whether Parker had an attorney.
Parker worked at Rose from Oct. 21, 2008, until April. Hospital officials say she was suspended April 13, before they learned of the cases, and then fired. She had failed a drug test by testing positive for Fentanyl.
Parker went to work for the Audubon surgery center shortly after being fired. She worked there from May 4 until Monday, Dr. J. Michael Hall, Audubon’s medical director, told The Gazette in Colorado Springs.
If convicted of tampering with a consumer product and other charges, she faces up to 10 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine on the most serious charge of tampering.
___
Information from: The Gazette, http://www.gazette.com
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
Economy may contribute to rise in family violence
Date: 4/10/2009
FRANK ELTMAN
Associated Press Writer
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (AP) — Some hospitals report seeing more than twice as many shaken babies as a year ago. Deaths from domestic violence have increased sharply in some areas.
Calls to domestic-violence hotlines have risen too, and more than half the callers said their families’ financial situation has changed recently.
Across the country, these and other signs point to another troubling effect of the recession: The American home is becoming more violent, and the ailing economy could be at least partially to blame.
“Our children and families are suffering,” said Alane Fagin, who runs a Long Island nonprofit group called Child Abuse Prevention Services. “With more layoffs expected, the threat of foreclosure looming over so many and our savings disappearing, even the best parents can feel stressed out and overwhelmed.”
Nationwide government data will not be compiled for months, so the evidence suggesting an uptick in child abuse and domestic violence has been largely anecdotal.
But the Child Welfare League of America, a coalition of public and private agencies, has been surveying state child welfare agencies to determine whether the numbers reflect a spike in violence.
“I think a lot of people are very concerned that we are in the early phases of this,” said Linda Spears, vice president for policy and public affairs.
Eighty-eight percent of law enforcement officials surveyed nationwide believe the economic crisis has led, or will lead, to more child abuse and neglect, according to top police officials from Los Angeles, Boston, Milwaukee and Philadelphia who recently held a news conference in Washington.
“Those of us on the front lines of law enforcement know that there is a correlation between economic distress and increased child abuse and neglect,” said Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton. “We have to get in front of this problem now.”
Just as the need appears to be growing, the recession is drying up funding to many agencies that fight domestic violence.
“This period of time may well be our perfect storm: a struggling economy, an increase in stress and a decrease in funding of programs,” said Fagin, the Long Island child abuse prevention advocate.
Not everyone is convinced domestic violence and child abuse are increasing.
“So far from what I’ve read there is no evidence that is the case,” said Ben Tanzer of Chicago-based Prevent Child Abuse. “Certainly we’re concerned that certain communities may be in crisis, but we just don’t know.”
Earlier this month, the U.S. Administration for Children’s Services released its annual report on child abuse, which found the number of children being maltreated actually fell in recent years, from 904,000 victims nationwide in 2006 to 794,000 the following year.
But those figures do not include the worst of the recession, which began in late 2007. Still, additional signs abound that violence is rising:
— The National Domestic Violence Hotline reported calls were up 21 percent in the third quarter of 2008 compared with a year earlier. A six-week survey found 54 percent of callers answering “yes” when asked if there had been a change in the family’s financial situation in the past year.
— Workers at Children’s Hospital Boston and Massachusetts General Hospital reported seeing nine infants with shaken baby syndrome in three months, compared with four in the same period last year. The chairman of pediatrics at Schneider Children’s Hospital on Long Island said his facility has had five cases in the past six months; only one or two cases arose during the previous year.
— Milwaukee reported a 40 percent increase in homicides related to domestic violence in the first three months of 2009. Police Chief Edward Flynn cannot say for sure whether the increase was caused by the recession, but he believes the two are related.
— The San Diego County Domestic Violence Hotline reported a 20 percent increase in calls in January 2009 over the prior year. “As the economy worsens, it’s likely that trend will get even worse,” District Attorney Bonnie M. Dumanis said.
— The Women’s Center of San Joaquin County, Calif., says the number of clients seeking aid in obtaining restraining orders against abusers has increased 50 percent for the first three months of 2009, and counselors blame the economy. The county leads the nation in foreclosures.
— Maine saw domestic violence-related homicides double in the past year. Gov. John Baldacci urged health care professionals to look even more carefully for signs of violence and sexual assault.
— Just outside the nation’s capital, the number of abuse and neglect cases rose 23 percent in Fairfax County, Va.; 29 percent in Montgomery County, Md.; and 18 percent in the District of Columbia in 2008. Neglect investigations appear to have increased most, as struggling families live without heat or electricity or fail to get children medical care.
Amy Wicks, a spokeswoman with the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome, said her organization has received reports from pediatricians around the country concerned about a spike in cases.
“It’s not just shaken baby, it’s other forms of physical abuse,” Wicks said. “A lot of fathers, or male caregivers, have been laid off and now they’re home with the screaming baby. Sometimes the stress of a crying baby is just too much on top of everything else.”
Individual cases also raise questions about the role economic troubles may have played.
Police on Long Island were called last month to the home of an out-of-work stagehand arguing with his wife over money. After repeatedly punching her in the face in front of his house, the man barricaded himself inside with her and their seven children as hostage negotiators pleaded for their release.
The siege in East Rockaway ended after the man’s wife fled and he was tackled by police outside the house. The children were not harmed.
Days later in Stockton, Minn., a man held a 4-year-old hostage for about five hours before surrendering. A woman told police her husband was intoxicated and had become “verbally violent” with her, noting he was depressed about being laid off at a die-casting company.
Mindy Perlmutter, spokeswoman for the Nassau County Coalition for Domestic Violence, cautioned that the economy is not the only factor in abuse cases — a common refrain among social workers.
“It doesn’t cause someone to be abusive,” she said. “There are many poor people who never abuse their loved ones. But if you’re inclined to be abusive, if you are an abuser, losing a job and being home 24/7 may give you more opportunity.”
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
FRANK ELTMAN
Associated Press Writer
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (AP) — Some hospitals report seeing more than twice as many shaken babies as a year ago. Deaths from domestic violence have increased sharply in some areas.
Calls to domestic-violence hotlines have risen too, and more than half the callers said their families’ financial situation has changed recently.
Across the country, these and other signs point to another troubling effect of the recession: The American home is becoming more violent, and the ailing economy could be at least partially to blame.
“Our children and families are suffering,” said Alane Fagin, who runs a Long Island nonprofit group called Child Abuse Prevention Services. “With more layoffs expected, the threat of foreclosure looming over so many and our savings disappearing, even the best parents can feel stressed out and overwhelmed.”
Nationwide government data will not be compiled for months, so the evidence suggesting an uptick in child abuse and domestic violence has been largely anecdotal.
But the Child Welfare League of America, a coalition of public and private agencies, has been surveying state child welfare agencies to determine whether the numbers reflect a spike in violence.
“I think a lot of people are very concerned that we are in the early phases of this,” said Linda Spears, vice president for policy and public affairs.
Eighty-eight percent of law enforcement officials surveyed nationwide believe the economic crisis has led, or will lead, to more child abuse and neglect, according to top police officials from Los Angeles, Boston, Milwaukee and Philadelphia who recently held a news conference in Washington.
“Those of us on the front lines of law enforcement know that there is a correlation between economic distress and increased child abuse and neglect,” said Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton. “We have to get in front of this problem now.”
Just as the need appears to be growing, the recession is drying up funding to many agencies that fight domestic violence.
“This period of time may well be our perfect storm: a struggling economy, an increase in stress and a decrease in funding of programs,” said Fagin, the Long Island child abuse prevention advocate.
Not everyone is convinced domestic violence and child abuse are increasing.
“So far from what I’ve read there is no evidence that is the case,” said Ben Tanzer of Chicago-based Prevent Child Abuse. “Certainly we’re concerned that certain communities may be in crisis, but we just don’t know.”
Earlier this month, the U.S. Administration for Children’s Services released its annual report on child abuse, which found the number of children being maltreated actually fell in recent years, from 904,000 victims nationwide in 2006 to 794,000 the following year.
But those figures do not include the worst of the recession, which began in late 2007. Still, additional signs abound that violence is rising:
— The National Domestic Violence Hotline reported calls were up 21 percent in the third quarter of 2008 compared with a year earlier. A six-week survey found 54 percent of callers answering “yes” when asked if there had been a change in the family’s financial situation in the past year.
— Workers at Children’s Hospital Boston and Massachusetts General Hospital reported seeing nine infants with shaken baby syndrome in three months, compared with four in the same period last year. The chairman of pediatrics at Schneider Children’s Hospital on Long Island said his facility has had five cases in the past six months; only one or two cases arose during the previous year.
— Milwaukee reported a 40 percent increase in homicides related to domestic violence in the first three months of 2009. Police Chief Edward Flynn cannot say for sure whether the increase was caused by the recession, but he believes the two are related.
— The San Diego County Domestic Violence Hotline reported a 20 percent increase in calls in January 2009 over the prior year. “As the economy worsens, it’s likely that trend will get even worse,” District Attorney Bonnie M. Dumanis said.
— The Women’s Center of San Joaquin County, Calif., says the number of clients seeking aid in obtaining restraining orders against abusers has increased 50 percent for the first three months of 2009, and counselors blame the economy. The county leads the nation in foreclosures.
— Maine saw domestic violence-related homicides double in the past year. Gov. John Baldacci urged health care professionals to look even more carefully for signs of violence and sexual assault.
— Just outside the nation’s capital, the number of abuse and neglect cases rose 23 percent in Fairfax County, Va.; 29 percent in Montgomery County, Md.; and 18 percent in the District of Columbia in 2008. Neglect investigations appear to have increased most, as struggling families live without heat or electricity or fail to get children medical care.
Amy Wicks, a spokeswoman with the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome, said her organization has received reports from pediatricians around the country concerned about a spike in cases.
“It’s not just shaken baby, it’s other forms of physical abuse,” Wicks said. “A lot of fathers, or male caregivers, have been laid off and now they’re home with the screaming baby. Sometimes the stress of a crying baby is just too much on top of everything else.”
Individual cases also raise questions about the role economic troubles may have played.
Police on Long Island were called last month to the home of an out-of-work stagehand arguing with his wife over money. After repeatedly punching her in the face in front of his house, the man barricaded himself inside with her and their seven children as hostage negotiators pleaded for their release.
The siege in East Rockaway ended after the man’s wife fled and he was tackled by police outside the house. The children were not harmed.
Days later in Stockton, Minn., a man held a 4-year-old hostage for about five hours before surrendering. A woman told police her husband was intoxicated and had become “verbally violent” with her, noting he was depressed about being laid off at a die-casting company.
Mindy Perlmutter, spokeswoman for the Nassau County Coalition for Domestic Violence, cautioned that the economy is not the only factor in abuse cases — a common refrain among social workers.
“It doesn’t cause someone to be abusive,” she said. “There are many poor people who never abuse their loved ones. But if you’re inclined to be abusive, if you are an abuser, losing a job and being home 24/7 may give you more opportunity.”
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
St. Louis hospital to study birth defect
Date: 3/31/2009
BETSY TAYLOR
Associated Press Writer
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A top children’s hospital wants to improve the survival rate of infants born with a birth defect that many families have never heard of until their child is diagnosed.
Dr. Brad Warner, surgeon-in-chief of St. Louis Children’s Hospital, said Tuesday that he and others plan research to better understand the condition, known as CDH, or Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. One in 2,000 babies is diagnosed with the disease, doctors say. Half of those don’t live to their first birthday.
The condition occurs when the diaphragm, which separates the chest cavity from the abdomen, does not completely form in the womb. The contents of the belly migrate to the chest, which keeps the lungs from developing properly.
Eight babies at the St. Louis hospital died last year from the condition.
Doctors at St. Louis Children’s Hospital say they’re part of a national database registry to collect and track information on children with the condition. They plan to recruit faculty candidates that are able to explore fetal surgery intervention and are working to collect DNA for analysis.
Treatment for the birth defect varies.
Many are stillborn. Babies who die from the birth defect usually have insufficient lung tissue to survive, or develop hypertension in the blood vessels of the lungs. Medications to lower blood pressure in the lungs lower the baby’s overall blood pressure, which can be problematic.
Of those who live, some are in distress from the moment the umbilical cord is clamped; others are OK for their initial hours of life, then get worse. A third group, which is the most uncommon, initially looks good, but later exhibits signs, such as bowel sounds in the chest, that reveal the condition.
In some cases, doctors have performed surgery on pregnant women and their fetuses to try to address problems before a baby is born, but those procedures have risks. Children with CDH can grow up to be healthy adults.
Doctors say they hope to better understand predictors of good and bad outcomes for babies with the condition, as well as how to address the many complications that can arise.
____
On the Net:
Breath of Hope: http://www.breathofhopeinc.com/
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
BETSY TAYLOR
Associated Press Writer
ST. LOUIS (AP) — A top children’s hospital wants to improve the survival rate of infants born with a birth defect that many families have never heard of until their child is diagnosed.
Dr. Brad Warner, surgeon-in-chief of St. Louis Children’s Hospital, said Tuesday that he and others plan research to better understand the condition, known as CDH, or Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. One in 2,000 babies is diagnosed with the disease, doctors say. Half of those don’t live to their first birthday.
The condition occurs when the diaphragm, which separates the chest cavity from the abdomen, does not completely form in the womb. The contents of the belly migrate to the chest, which keeps the lungs from developing properly.
Eight babies at the St. Louis hospital died last year from the condition.
Doctors at St. Louis Children’s Hospital say they’re part of a national database registry to collect and track information on children with the condition. They plan to recruit faculty candidates that are able to explore fetal surgery intervention and are working to collect DNA for analysis.
Treatment for the birth defect varies.
Many are stillborn. Babies who die from the birth defect usually have insufficient lung tissue to survive, or develop hypertension in the blood vessels of the lungs. Medications to lower blood pressure in the lungs lower the baby’s overall blood pressure, which can be problematic.
Of those who live, some are in distress from the moment the umbilical cord is clamped; others are OK for their initial hours of life, then get worse. A third group, which is the most uncommon, initially looks good, but later exhibits signs, such as bowel sounds in the chest, that reveal the condition.
In some cases, doctors have performed surgery on pregnant women and their fetuses to try to address problems before a baby is born, but those procedures have risks. Children with CDH can grow up to be healthy adults.
Doctors say they hope to better understand predictors of good and bad outcomes for babies with the condition, as well as how to address the many complications that can arise.
____
On the Net:
Breath of Hope: http://www.breathofhopeinc.com/
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
Mixed reax from parents on peanut allergy advance
Date: 3/18/2009
By HOLLY RAMER
Associated Press Writer
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — One mom says she’d be first in line for a promising treatment that exposes children with peanut allergies to tiny amounts of peanut flour. Another remains fearful, with the painful image of her son’s face blown up beyond recognition still fresh in her mind.
While some parents of children with life-threatening peanut allergies see a glimmer of hope in a recent study suggesting a possible cure, others remain dubious that it will ever change their children’s lives.
“It’s like when we were growing up 20 years ago and we saw the flip phones on Star Trek — that was going to be the wave of the future, but we thought that would never happen,” said Eva Stilkey of Raymond, N.H. “It’s great, but those of us who live with the disappointment and the reality of it, you kind of protect yourself. We really do hope it happens someday, but we don’t want to have false hope.”
Earlier this week, scientists announced the findings of a small study that involved giving a handful of highly allergic children tiny amounts of peanut flour daily for more than two years. Gradually, the children became less sensitive, and so far, five show no remaining sign of the allergy.
Larger studies are beginning to see if the treatment works for more people and how long it lasts. But it was big news for the nearly 2 million Americans who are allergic to peanuts.
Stilkey’s son, Nicholas, who turns 5 on Friday, was 2½ when a single bite of peanut butter pie sparked a severe reaction.
“We had him spit it out, and when he did, when he lifted his head back up. I couldn’t even recognize him. His face was blown up to a point where there was no separation between his nose or his lips. He was stuffing his hands frantically down his throat trying to breathe,” she said.
Stilkey considers the study participants heroes, but she’s in no hurry to follow in their footsteps.
“I am full of complete admiration for the parents and those children who put themselves through that because I know as a mother, I would be absolutely fearful to try to put Nick through that, just because I’ve seen what happened to him,” she said.
Tamara Leibowitz, who runs a support group for parents of children with food allergies in Portsmouth, N.H., said it would be a leap of faith to subject her son to small doses of what essentially has been considered poison, but “I think we’d jump at the chance.”
“My son would be terrified at the beginning, but he’s been paying attention, too, even at 9 years old, and he’s really encouraged by what he sees,” she said, describing her own reaction as “cautiously optimistic.”
In Orange County, Calif., Louise Larsen said she, too, would seek out the treatment if it becomes available.
“Would I put my child through that? Sure, if I sat right next to her, and we went very slowly and it was in a very controlled setting,” said Larsen, whose 12-year-old daughter is allergic to peanuts. But she said she would never be completely convinced that the allergy was gone.
“Even if they did conclude she no longer had any allergy, as her mom, I’m going to send an EpiPen with her until she goes to college,” she said, describing the portable injections used to treat anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction marked by swelling of the throat or tongue, hives, and breathing trouble.
Another California mom, Lori Fletcher, would be just as eager to try the treatment on her 6-year-old son, though she and other parents worry that publicity over the breakthrough would create more misconceptions about food allergies. She doesn’t want people who have heard the news to assume that it means her son now can have “just a little bit” of food containing peanuts. “We still need to be avoiding it,” she said.
But she also found the news inspiring, and plans to use it to promote an upcoming fundraising walk.
“I hope people take from it that if we do raise money, we can get a treatment fairly soon,” said Fletcher, of Danville, Calif.
In the meantime, parents said they will remain vigilant, obsessively checking each food label and ensuring their children’s safety at home and school.
“Every time you think you finally have come to a point where you can sit back a little and trust the school has everything in place, you get the phone call that someone has brought this in by mistake,” said Stilkey.
Lori Pelletier-Baker, of Concord, N.H., hasn’t faced that situation yet because her 4-year-old daughter isn’t in school, but kindergarten is just around the corner.
“It is a constant weight that I think everybody, including Kaleigh, carries on their shoulders,” she said. This week’s breakthrough doesn’t lessen that weight, she said.
“There’s that piece of me that thinks, ‘Wow, that’s so amazing!’ But the reality is that it may take a long time to reach us,” she said. “I’m not going to give up hope, but I know that things aren’t going to change any time soon.”
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
By HOLLY RAMER
Associated Press Writer
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — One mom says she’d be first in line for a promising treatment that exposes children with peanut allergies to tiny amounts of peanut flour. Another remains fearful, with the painful image of her son’s face blown up beyond recognition still fresh in her mind.
While some parents of children with life-threatening peanut allergies see a glimmer of hope in a recent study suggesting a possible cure, others remain dubious that it will ever change their children’s lives.
“It’s like when we were growing up 20 years ago and we saw the flip phones on Star Trek — that was going to be the wave of the future, but we thought that would never happen,” said Eva Stilkey of Raymond, N.H. “It’s great, but those of us who live with the disappointment and the reality of it, you kind of protect yourself. We really do hope it happens someday, but we don’t want to have false hope.”
Earlier this week, scientists announced the findings of a small study that involved giving a handful of highly allergic children tiny amounts of peanut flour daily for more than two years. Gradually, the children became less sensitive, and so far, five show no remaining sign of the allergy.
Larger studies are beginning to see if the treatment works for more people and how long it lasts. But it was big news for the nearly 2 million Americans who are allergic to peanuts.
Stilkey’s son, Nicholas, who turns 5 on Friday, was 2½ when a single bite of peanut butter pie sparked a severe reaction.
“We had him spit it out, and when he did, when he lifted his head back up. I couldn’t even recognize him. His face was blown up to a point where there was no separation between his nose or his lips. He was stuffing his hands frantically down his throat trying to breathe,” she said.
Stilkey considers the study participants heroes, but she’s in no hurry to follow in their footsteps.
“I am full of complete admiration for the parents and those children who put themselves through that because I know as a mother, I would be absolutely fearful to try to put Nick through that, just because I’ve seen what happened to him,” she said.
Tamara Leibowitz, who runs a support group for parents of children with food allergies in Portsmouth, N.H., said it would be a leap of faith to subject her son to small doses of what essentially has been considered poison, but “I think we’d jump at the chance.”
“My son would be terrified at the beginning, but he’s been paying attention, too, even at 9 years old, and he’s really encouraged by what he sees,” she said, describing her own reaction as “cautiously optimistic.”
In Orange County, Calif., Louise Larsen said she, too, would seek out the treatment if it becomes available.
“Would I put my child through that? Sure, if I sat right next to her, and we went very slowly and it was in a very controlled setting,” said Larsen, whose 12-year-old daughter is allergic to peanuts. But she said she would never be completely convinced that the allergy was gone.
“Even if they did conclude she no longer had any allergy, as her mom, I’m going to send an EpiPen with her until she goes to college,” she said, describing the portable injections used to treat anaphylaxis, a severe allergic reaction marked by swelling of the throat or tongue, hives, and breathing trouble.
Another California mom, Lori Fletcher, would be just as eager to try the treatment on her 6-year-old son, though she and other parents worry that publicity over the breakthrough would create more misconceptions about food allergies. She doesn’t want people who have heard the news to assume that it means her son now can have “just a little bit” of food containing peanuts. “We still need to be avoiding it,” she said.
But she also found the news inspiring, and plans to use it to promote an upcoming fundraising walk.
“I hope people take from it that if we do raise money, we can get a treatment fairly soon,” said Fletcher, of Danville, Calif.
In the meantime, parents said they will remain vigilant, obsessively checking each food label and ensuring their children’s safety at home and school.
“Every time you think you finally have come to a point where you can sit back a little and trust the school has everything in place, you get the phone call that someone has brought this in by mistake,” said Stilkey.
Lori Pelletier-Baker, of Concord, N.H., hasn’t faced that situation yet because her 4-year-old daughter isn’t in school, but kindergarten is just around the corner.
“It is a constant weight that I think everybody, including Kaleigh, carries on their shoulders,” she said. This week’s breakthrough doesn’t lessen that weight, she said.
“There’s that piece of me that thinks, ‘Wow, that’s so amazing!’ But the reality is that it may take a long time to reach us,” she said. “I’m not going to give up hope, but I know that things aren’t going to change any time soon.”
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
10 drink windshield wiper fluid at Ark. day care
Date: 3/13/2009
By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press Writer
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Ten children at a day care center drank windshield wiper fluid after a staffer served it from a container mistaken for Kool-Aid and placed in a refrigerator, authorities said Friday.
The day care owner surrendered her state license Friday.
Doctors estimate the children, ages 2 to 7, drank about an ounce of the blue fluid late Thursday afternoon before realizing it tasted wrong, said Laura James, a pediatric pharmacologist and toxicologist at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock.
Only one child remained hospitalized Friday morning, after blood samples showed “measurable levels” of methanol, a highly toxic alcohol that can induce comas and cause blindness, officials said. The day care also provided the fluid for testing.
The windshield wiper fluid was bought with several other items on a recent shopping trip, James told The Associated Press. “This product was mistakenly grabbed and thought to be Kool-Aid and put in the refrigerator,” she said.
The day care’s operator, Carolyn Bynum, was interviewed Friday by child welfare investigators and gave up her license, said Julie Munsell, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services. Bynum declined to comment to the Associated Press.
“She was so upset about what had occurred and she was definitely worried some of the children had been injured,” Munsell said. “It was just a mistake, she says. She says it was just a horrible mistake.”
Bynum’s license had allowed her to care for 10 children in her home in Scott, about 15 miles east of Little Rock. Munsell said Bynum had no found complaints or serious compliance issues in the past.
By surrendering her license, Bynum can no longer care for children without reapplying.
The toxicologist warned that many antifreeze or windshield wiper solutions have bright colors, which can be mistaken for fruit drinks.
“I think the take-home message is not to have these products in the kitchen or where you’re doing any kind of food preparation,” she said.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press Writer
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Ten children at a day care center drank windshield wiper fluid after a staffer served it from a container mistaken for Kool-Aid and placed in a refrigerator, authorities said Friday.
The day care owner surrendered her state license Friday.
Doctors estimate the children, ages 2 to 7, drank about an ounce of the blue fluid late Thursday afternoon before realizing it tasted wrong, said Laura James, a pediatric pharmacologist and toxicologist at Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock.
Only one child remained hospitalized Friday morning, after blood samples showed “measurable levels” of methanol, a highly toxic alcohol that can induce comas and cause blindness, officials said. The day care also provided the fluid for testing.
The windshield wiper fluid was bought with several other items on a recent shopping trip, James told The Associated Press. “This product was mistakenly grabbed and thought to be Kool-Aid and put in the refrigerator,” she said.
The day care’s operator, Carolyn Bynum, was interviewed Friday by child welfare investigators and gave up her license, said Julie Munsell, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services. Bynum declined to comment to the Associated Press.
“She was so upset about what had occurred and she was definitely worried some of the children had been injured,” Munsell said. “It was just a mistake, she says. She says it was just a horrible mistake.”
Bynum’s license had allowed her to care for 10 children in her home in Scott, about 15 miles east of Little Rock. Munsell said Bynum had no found complaints or serious compliance issues in the past.
By surrendering her license, Bynum can no longer care for children without reapplying.
The toxicologist warned that many antifreeze or windshield wiper solutions have bright colors, which can be mistaken for fruit drinks.
“I think the take-home message is not to have these products in the kitchen or where you’re doing any kind of food preparation,” she said.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
Court orders doctor detained in Swedish death
Date: 3/6/2009
STOCKHOLM (AP) — A Swedish court has ordered a 54-year-old pediatrician to be detained on suspicion of manslaughter in the death of an infant.
The Solna District Court did not release the doctor’s name in announcing the decision on Friday.
Prosecutor Elisabeth Brandt told Swedish news agency TT she suspects the doctor of giving the baby a lethal injection in September. The pediatrician has denied the allegations.
Local media say the baby suffered a severe lack of oxygen when born several months premature in June. Her condition worsened after an accidental overdose of medicine and an ultrasound scan reportedly showed she suffered cerebral hemorrhage.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
STOCKHOLM (AP) — A Swedish court has ordered a 54-year-old pediatrician to be detained on suspicion of manslaughter in the death of an infant.
The Solna District Court did not release the doctor’s name in announcing the decision on Friday.
Prosecutor Elisabeth Brandt told Swedish news agency TT she suspects the doctor of giving the baby a lethal injection in September. The pediatrician has denied the allegations.
Local media say the baby suffered a severe lack of oxygen when born several months premature in June. Her condition worsened after an accidental overdose of medicine and an ultrasound scan reportedly showed she suffered cerebral hemorrhage.
Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.
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