A Safe Haven for Children
Amanda Goddard helps abuse victims at the Child Advocacy Center
A passion for children’s care
“Since I was a child, I knew I always wanted to help children,” Amanda Goddard says. Her journey took her from her Omaha, Neb., hometown to Denver, and now to LVHHN as a nurse practitioner at the Child Advocacy Center and the pediatrics clinic, LVH–17th and Chew.
If you see or suspect child abuse, call the 24-hour, toll-free ChildLine at 1-800-932-0313. Children and Youth Services keep all referral sources anonymous.
Amanda Goddard will never forget her first visit to an intensive care unit as a pediatric nurse in her Omaha, Neb., hometown. “I saw the horror of children who were badly beaten,” she says. “I knew I had to help.”
So Goddard worked tirelessly to become a pediatric nurse practitioner and a sexual assault forensic examiner (SAFE). Then she looked for the perfect place to turn her knowledge into a helping hand for children.
She found it at LVHHN through a community partnership with the Child Advocacy Center (CAC) of Lehigh County. One of 500 such centers nationwide, the CAC brings together law enforcement, child protective services, the district attorney’s office, victim advocacy, mental health services and medical services to provide protection for abused children.
Goddard spends three days each week at the CAC office in downtown Allentown. Inside a specially designed exam room with Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls, she performs head-to-toe assessments of abused children who are referred from Lehigh County Children and Youth Services. “I reassure the child, talk to him, read him stories and develop trust,” Goddard says. “I never begin an exam until I’m sure the child feels comfortable.”
During the exams, Goddard also collects potential medical evidence. If necessary, she will testify in court on a child’s behalf. “Our goal is to make sure a child never suffers the trauma of testifying,” Goddard says.
Before the CAC began in 2001, child abuse cases sometimes weren’t investigated until six months after they occurred, and an abused child often had to tell his story multiple times, causing more trauma.
Thanks to the CAC process, the efforts of investigators are coordinated, and the trauma of the investigation is significantly reduced for the child.
LVHHN’s commitment to the CAC is part of the hospital’s community benefit. It also includes education and expertise from pediatrics chair John VanBrakle, M.D., also the center’s medical director. VanBrakle teaches CAC team members about topics such as identifying shaken-baby syndrome. Emergency department (ED) caregivers also are trained to identify signs of physical and sexual abuse and report them.
Goddard’s involvement with the CAC is part of her “dream job,” which also includes working two days each week in the pediatrics clinic. “The people I work with care for children so deeply, it’s inspirational,” she says. “When you help a child, you help the world.”
Enriching Our Care for Children
A hospital’s community involvement is a key qualification for entry into the National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI). Because of our high quality of children’s care and community outreach, LVHHN is the only hospital in the region accepted for NACHRI associate membership. As part of 204 NACHRI member hospitals, we learn from other hospitals that care for children and bring the highest level of expertise to our community’s children. Click here to learn more.
This page last updated 2/12/08 04:08 PM
