Deb Harper: Signs of child abuse must be addressed

In a Guest Opinion published March 31, 2018 (“Emergency room visit quickly became a nightmare”), Ms. Heather Appleton complains of the care given her 18-week-old daughter in the Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital Emergency Department. Her daughter had a broken leg and the doctors there did an extensive workup.

I am a pediatrician who spent over 30 years working with abused and neglected children in our community.

Of children under age 5 years with signs of possible abuse seen by a medical provider and abuse is not considered, over one in three will be dead the next time they come to medical attention. Let that sink in. One in three of these children will die.

Our medical community has worked hard to identify these children, treat them, keep them safe and provide their families with the services they need to nurture and parent their kids.

A 4-month-old baby with a broken leg triggers the exploration for possible child abuse. Child Protective Services is called, not when abuse is diagnosed but when the possibility exists. Physicians and nurses are mandated reporters. CPS would have been called whether this baby’s parent agreed with the testing or not. The workup Ms. Appleton describes is the appropriate work up for a child with suspected abuse.

Children with suspected abuse do undergo many X-rays. Our local radiologists at every hospital have worked hard to limit radiation of small children for every test.

I’m very happy Ms. Appleton’s baby was not abused and will heal from her injury. I’m sorry the mother was traumatized by having child abuse considered and I’m sorry her baby was fussy and crying during her testing.

Parents who believe their child has been inappropriately taken care of can contact the Spokane County Medical Society’s grievance committee, their child’s primary care provider or the Comfort Care team at Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital.

I’m surprised The Spokesman-Review chose to publish this guest opinion without any fact checking. Partners With Families and Children is our local child advocacy center and would have been happy to discuss what happened with Ms. Appleton or the editor (with Ms. Appleton’s permission).

We all need to be on guard for our most vulnerable people. When there are holes in our community health safety net the smallest fall through first.

We are all tired of reading about children dying whose neighbors heard unusual crying or screams and did nothing. We have had two notable saves of children recently when drug addicts stole or dumpster-dived and found computers with evidence of child abuse on them. Surely everyone else can step up and stand up for our children. As Alice Cooper said, “Dead babies can’t take care of themselves.”

I’m proud of the physicians in the Sacred Heart Children’s Hospital Emergency Department who recognized the possibility of abuse and did the right tests to make sure this baby girl was safe. I’m proud of our community who have created and supported services to help all of our parents and their children.

April is child abuse awareness month. Let’s all do our part to help our smallest citizens.

Deb Harper, M.D., FAAP