Shaken Baby Syndrome
Prevention Campaign
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| The Central Massachusetts Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention Campaign |
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Assistant District Attorney Mary Sawicki is the recipient of this year’s Massachusetts Bar Association’s Access to Justice Prosecutor Award. ADA Sawicki is the head of District Attorney John J. Conte’s Child Abuse and Sexual Assault Unit. She is one of the founding members of the Central Massachusetts Shaken Baby Syndrome Campaign and of the DA/DSS Roundtable. The Prosecutor of the Year Award honors Attorney Sawicki for her distinguished public service and her outstanding commitment to justice and to serving her community. The award was presented at the annual conference of the Massachusetts Bar Association in Boston. For more information, CLICK HERE.  On Friday morning, December 19, WFCR radio--88.5--(Amherst) aired the WBUR feature about the Campaign. The WFCR broadcast area includes Western and Central Massachusetts, Southern Vermont, and Western New York State. On Wednesday, December 17th, following the regular Steering Committee meeting, members of the Collaborative gathered at Vinny Testa's to honor Christine Barron, MD, SBS Campaign co-chair and former Collaborative director. Dr. Barron is the director of the Child Protection Program at UMass Memorial Children's Medical Center, Worcester, MA. On Tuesday, December 16th WBUR--90.9 FM--aired a feature story on the Campaign's efforts to prevent Shaken Baby Syndrome in Central Massachusetts. The story featured commentary from Massachusetts Citizens for Children Executive Director Jetta Bernier, as well as professionals and parents involved in the Worcester Hospital Parental Education Model at Henry Heywood Hospital. The WBUR website contains a link to the MCC website so that listeners can visit the new MCC/Central Mass SBS Prevention Campaign website authored by Sarah Spurgeon. On Friday, December 12, 2003 Karen Penta of the SBS Task Force joined other members of the Comprehensive Child Abuse Prevention/Protection Collaborative (CCAPPC) as presenters in two workshops: "Sexual Violence Against Children: Building a Community Response." The Campaign will be moving forward with a poster designed for general use throughout the Commonwealth. The Department of Social Services has graciously agreed to assist in design and production. Watch for details.  The Health Foundation Announces Expansion of SBS Campaign
On December 10, 2003, the Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts, Inc. announced a $398,653 Project Implementation Grant to Community Healthlink, Inc. as administrator of the Child Abuse Prevention and Protection Collaborative, of which the SBS Campaign is a member. In making this announcement, the Health Foundation stated that it will expand the Central Massachusetts Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention Campaign. According to Daniel D. Melle, LICSW, Project Director of the Collaborative, the aim is to "educate every parent who gives birth in Central Massachusetts, before they leave the hospital." The SBS Prevention program has been piloted at Harrington Memorial Hospital in Southbridge, and Henry Heywood Hospital in Gardner. Nurse managers at those facilities have led efforts to train staff to deliver the in-hospital patient education program and will coordinate the evaluation of the program through follow-up phone calls to parents. The SBS Campaign hopes to expand in partnership with the four other birthing hospitals in Central Massachusetts during the coming year: Milford-Whitinsville Regional Hospital in Milford; HealthAlliance Hospital in Leominster; St. Vincent Hospital at Worcester Medical Center; and UMass Memorial Healthcare, Memorial Campus in Worcester. For more information about the Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts, Inc., CLICK HERE. (from the MCC newsletter) Massachusetts Citizens for Children Director Jetta Bernier spoke at a December 3rd press conference called by Harry Spence, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Social Services, in response to a series of recent high profile cases of babies killed or seriously injured by violent shaking. Since April, 2003, DSS has investigated shaken baby cases in Lowell, Brockton, Methuen, Seekonk, Reading, Webster and Somerset. Bernier spoke about the factors contributing to shaken baby cases, and stressed that they are preventable. Massachusetts Citizens for Children, In conjunction with the Campaign, funded by the Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts, Inc., has developed an educational program for parents and professionals to reduce shaken baby cases. DSS Commissioner Harry Spence urged families and communities to support young parents caring for newborns. He stated that most incidents of violent shaking involve young men with little or no experience caring for a crying baby. “This is occurring with a frequency that is alarming”, said Spence. On December 2, 2003, representatives of the Campaign presented two workshops at the 2nd Annual Child Fatality Review Conference sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Jetta Bernier, coordinator of the Campaign and Executive Director of MCC, moderated the sessions. Karen Beaton, RN, of Henry Heywood Hospital (Gardner, MA), discussed the Campaign's birthing hospital education program. The parents of every baby born at Heywood Hospital receive individualized information about the dangers of shaking and how to cope with crying infants. Christine Barron, MD, Campaign co-chair and Director of the UMass Memorial Health Center Child Protection Program, and Holly Hackman, MD, of the Department of Public Health, discussed the Shaken Baby Syndrome coding project, a joint effort to review and revise medical diagnosis and discharge codes for head injuries in Massachusetts. The Conference took place at the Hoagland-Pincus Conference Center in Shrewsbury Masachusetts. Keynote speaker was Terri Covington, Director of the National MCH Resource Center for Child Death Review. | Return Home | About SBS | About the Campaign | What's New? | Great Links | |
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