HERSHEY, Pa. — “If it’s never on your radar screen, you’re never going to see it.”
That’s the philosophy that drives Dr. Lori Frasier in her efforts to better train pediatricians and other clinicians to be aware of clues that might suggest abuse.
Frasier is director of the Penn State Center for the Protection of Children, division chief of child abuse pediatrics at Penn State Children’s Hospital, and is board-certified in child abuse pediatrics. She will take her expertise statewide as she partners with the Pennsylvania Family Support Alliance to provide new, state-mandated training of medically licensed professionals that will hopefully lead to better reporting of suspected child abuse. In 2014, 30 children died from abuse.
“It’s difficult in that frontline role as the pediatrician, especially if you know the family and have seen them over and over again,” Frasier said. “If you’re not thinking about possible clues of abuse, you’re never going to see it.”
The state’s Department of Human Services recently awarded the alliance a five-year, $2.5 million contract to provide expanded training in recognizing and reporting child abuse for mandated reporters across Pennsylvania.
Frasier will play a key role by developing the clinical training portion that supplements the face-to-face training.
Read more about Frasier and this project in this Penn State Medicine article.