|
 |
Attorney General Mike DeWine
DeWine
Announces $1 Million Grant to Ohio Children’s Hospitals
Medical research grant will study “sentinel injuries” in children from
zero to six months of age
(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine today announced that
his office is giving a $1 million dollar medical research grant to the
Ohio Children’s Hospital Association to study “sentinel injuries” in
children aged zero to six months. Sentinel injuries are relatively
minor injuries that should prompt concerns for possible child abuse,
but are sometimes missed by the healthcare provider. Examples of
the types of minor injuries include oral injuries and bruises.
“Over 30,000 Ohio children are involved in a substantiated case of
child abuse or neglect each year,” said Ohio Attorney General Mike
DeWine. “By studying these injuries in children from zero to six
months we hope to detect patterns early in order to help prevent,
diagnose, care and treat abused children.”
There is limited published literature on this subject, but a recent
study in Pediatrics reported on a hospital’s experience with nearly 200
abused children and found that almost 1 in 3 had with a reported
history of a “sentinel injury”, many of which had been missed by the
healthcare provider and should have prompted concern for abuse.
"Ohio's children's hospitals have a proven track record of working
collaboratively to improve child health in our state - and we each have
efforts designed to prevent and treat the abuse of children - yet this
will be the first time the hospitals have worked together on this
particular issue. We know we can get results - and save
children's lives in the process," said Steve Allen, M.D., CEO,
Nationwide Children's Hospital and a member of the board of the Ohio
Children's Hospital Association.
The grant will involve six Ohio’s children’s hospitals – Akron
Children’s, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Dayton
Children’s, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, ProMedica Toledo Children’s
and UH/Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital. Nationwide
Children’s Hospital will be leading the collaborative, three-year
effort. Grant funding for the project comes from lawsuit
settlement funds.
The goals of the study are:
To establish a baseline frequency of missed “sentinel injuries”
To develop and disseminate medical interventions to reduce the
frequency of missed “sentinel injuries”
To measure the impact of medical interventions on the frequency of
missed “sentinel injuries”
The project will consist of three waves, each lasting 12 months
Year one will include data from each of the six children’s hospitals
Year two will include data from regional hospitals throughout Ohio that
provide care for children
Year three will include data from large primary care pediatric
practices across Ohio
“Ohio’s six children’s hospitals work hard every day to care for our
youngest patients,” said Nick Lashutka, President of the Ohio
Children’s Hospital Association. “This study will help us learn about
injuries and the care, treatment and prevention of child abuse.”
|
|
|
|
