The University of Mississippi Medical Center’s Batson CARE (Child Abuse Referral and Examination) Clinic at the Children’s Justice Center (CJC) has received a $150,000 grant from Johnson & Johnson, Inc., to establish satellite clinics in Meridian and Pascagoula.

“The grant process was very competitive and the fact that the CJC was recognized as only one of 10 beneficiaries is outstanding,” said Elizabeth Hocker, executive director of the CJC.

The clinic, located at the Jackson Medical Mall Thad Cochran Center, provides noninvasive medical examinations and treatment for physically abused, neglected, and/or sexually abused children five days a week. The grant will establish satellite clinics at Rush Foundation Hospital in Meridian and Singer River Hospital in Pascagoula to reduce travel time, expand services and enhance care for specific areas.

“Clinics specifically identified as a resource by law enforcement, prosecutors, social workers, and child advocates will encourage and foster better investigations, holding more offenders accountable for their criminal behavior and better serve child victims,” Hocker said.                 

On March 14, a film crew from Johnson & Johnson interviewed staff at the clinic and others working with abused children for a video that was shown at a Johnson & Johnson Community Health Care Forum in Washington, D.C., April 29-May 1. The purpose is to focus attention on the services provided by the Batson CARE Clinic and other organizations that received the 2007 Johnson & Johnson Community Health Care Program awards.

Hocker said children are referred to the clinic by the Mississippi Department of Human Services (DHS), child advocacy centers around the state or law enforcement. Hocker is a former child abuse prosecutor.

The clinic is connected to the University of Mississippi Medical Center’s TelEmergency System, which allows pediatric nurse practitioner Dr. Kathy Kolar to assist nurse practitioners in rural counties when they are examining children who may have been the victims of sexual abuse. The clinic uses the system to consult on suspected abuse and neglect cases.

Children are referred to the clinic from as far north as Tishomingo, Lee and DeSoto counties and from as far south as George County. Kolar examines the children, and Hazel Gaines, a pediatric forensic nurse, is the clinic’s nurse administrator. 

In 2006, more than 160 children were seen, ranging in age from five months to 17. It is anticipated that the clinic staff will examine more than 350 children in 2007. 

Hocker said Dr. Bev Evans, chair of the Department of Pediatrics, should be commended for the support that he has given the CJC and its efforts to provide medical care to those children that have been abused and neglected.

“It is exciting to think that in the near future every child in Mississippi that is intentionally hurt will receive the same high standard of care. Law enforcement and DHS now have a viable tool to help them protect children in the central, southern and eastern parts of the state,” Hocker said.