Attention on Prevention

We’re back after an extended break! Dr. Mary Case is Professor Emerita at St. Louis University School of Medicine and the Chief Medical Examiner for St. Charles, Jefferson and Franklin Counties in Missouri. Her 50-year career has resulted in her becoming a globally recognized forensic pathologist and neuropathologist. Dr. Case has an extensive career in child abuse investigations and is a leading...

Brian Holmgren is a retired career child abuse prosecutor who continues to consult, lecture and write on child abuse topics. He served as an Assistant District Attorney General with the Davidson County District Attorney General’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee for 15 years where he was the team leader of the child abuse unit. Previously he served as an Assistant District Attorney in Kenosha County...

Dr. Lori Frasier started her career in pediatrics in the early 1980s graduating from the University of Utah School of Medicine and completing her residency at Seattle Children’s Hospital, called Children’s Orthopedics at the time Dr. Frasier served there. Dr. Frasier is board certified in both General Pediatrics and Child Abuse Pediatrics.   Dr. Frasier’s interview is the second of our 5-episode s...

Emily Bodily is the mother of Elijah Fisher who was shaken and killed by his biological father just days before Christmas in 1997. His life and the ensuing aftermath of his death is the subject of the documentary Elijah’s Story , produced and distributed by the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome (NCSBS) and formed the basis of the NCSBS’ hospital- and school-based shaken baby syndrome prevent...

This final episode of our 8-part April Child Abuse Prevention series brings us a conversation with Christine Baker, program coordinator for Seattle Children’s Hospital’s Child Protection Advocacy and Outreach Program. Christine tells us that Seattle Children’s led a summit to address #ShakenBabySyndrome (SBS) prevention after seeing SBS cases triple during the recession in 2008. The summit resulte...

JoAnn Otten is our guest in this 7th of 8 episodes of our special April Child Abuse Prevention series giving our listeners firsthand experiences into Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) cases. JoAnn Otten is the grandmother of Miley, who was shaken by her biological father when she was just 7 months old. JoAnn talks about her suspicion that Miley's father abused her after he initially told investigato...

In the 6th episode of our 8-part April Child Abuse Prevention series giving you first-hand perspectives into Shaken Baby Syndrome cases we introduce you to Michelle Fishpaw, mother of Claire who was shaken by her childcare provider when she was just 11 months old. Michelle takes us to the day Claire was shaken and the helpless feeling of uncertainty as Claire lay unconscious for 13 hours  after sh...

You’ll meet Greg Williams in Episode 14 of the NCSBS' Attention on Prevention #podcast and the 5th episode in our 8-part April Child Abuse Prevention series diving deep into #ShakenBabySyndrome (SBS). Greg is the grandfather of Reagan, who was shaken and killed by her mother’s boyfriend when Reagan was 2 ½ years old. Reagan was Greg’s first grandchild, and they shared a special bond, one that...

This is the 4th episode of our 8-part April Child Abuse Prevention series providing access into Shaken Baby Syndrome cases from first-hand experiences. In this episode, we talk with Leigh Bishop, the former Assistant District Attorney and the Chief of the Child Fatality Unit at the Queens County District Attorney’s Office in New York. Leigh discusses her career prosecuting Abusive Head Trauma case...

This is the 3rd episode of our 8-part April Child Abuse Prevention series giving you first-hand perspectives into Shaken Baby Syndrome cases. Today’s guest is Lee Raschke, Captain at Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office in Tampa, Florida. Lee talks about his experiences investigating Abusive Head Trauma cases and the teamwork required among law enforcement, social services and medical staff to ens...

This episode is the 2nd in our 8-part April Child Abuse Prevention series giving you a deeper look into Shaken Baby Syndrome cases.  We talk to Dr. Debra Esernio-Jenssen, pediatrician and Medical Director of the Child Advocacy Center at Lehigh Valley Reilly Children’s Hospital. You will not find a more thorough explanation of how doctors evaluate infants when they arrive at the hospital and the mu...

This episode introduces a special series to bring attention to Child Abuse Prevention Month, celebrated in April each year. We are releasing 8 podcasts, 2 per week, that will bring you first-hand look at Shaken Baby Syndrome cases. We’ll talk with a doctor, a law enforcement officer, a prosecutor, a prevention specialist and families of victims of Shaken Baby Syndrome to bring you their unique exp...

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Beth Russell, Associate Department Head for Undergraduate Studies and an Associate Professor in the Human Development and Family Studies Department at the University of Connecticut. She is also the Director of the Center of Applied Research in Human Development and Co-Director of the Collaboratory on School and Child Health. Dr. Russell talks about her researc...

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson, pediatrician, Chief Medical Officer of Before Brands, Author of the Book Mama Doc Medicine, and a popular voice for healthcare advocacy online. Dr. Swanson discusses how she became a pioneer in the digital medical world when she started her blog Seattle Mama Doc through Seattle Children’s Hospital, the first-ever pediatrician-authored blog on be...

In this episode, we talk with filmmaker Chris Baier, whose documentary film “Like, Share, Comment and Subscribe” tells the story of Josh Sorrels, a man, who at nearly 40 years old, is learning to come to peace with his life as a survivor of Shaken Baby Syndrome. Chris talks about how he first found Josh through his YouTube channel and the emotional video Josh posted that sent them on the journey t...

In this episode, we talk with Danielle Letourneau and Kimberly Honchell of the Relief Crafters or America, a volunteer-run group of over 50,000 people that provide handcrafted fiber products to groups who serve human or animal needs. The Relief Crafters of America have donated nearly 3,000 infant hats and booties to support the National Center’s CLICK for Babies campaign that provides families of...

In this episode of the Attention on Prevention podcast, we talk to Dr. Natasha Shur, a medical geneticist at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. Dr. Shur describes the role of a medical geneticist in abuse cases and how they fill a role within a multi-disciplinary team of doctors in diagnosing abusive head trauma and abuse in general. Dr. Shur warns of the misuse of random genet...

In this episode, we talk with Matthew Torbenson, a Deputy District Attorney in Milwaukee County and the Team Captain of the Child Protection Advocacy Unit in the District Attorney’s Office. Mr. Torbenson talks about what makes Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma cases unique and the comprehensive process his office takes to prepare for SBS/AHT cases. Mr. Torbenson describes the perceived “cou...

In this episode of the Attention on Prevention Podcast we sit down with Dr. Catherine Ayoub, licensed psychologist and nurse practitioner from the Brazelton Touchpoints Center and the Executive Director of the Family Connections Project at Children’s Hospital in Boston. Dr. Ayoub is also an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and is the Director of Research of the Children and the Law Pr...

In this episode of the Attention on Prevention Podcast, we sit down with Dr. Lori Frasier who, among many other titles, is Chief of Child Abuse Pediatrics at Penn State Hershey Medical Center and the current President of the Ray E. Helfer Society, an international professional society of child abuse pediatricians from around the world. We talk about the role of child abuse pediatricians within our...

In our very first episode, we talk with Amber Sorenson, a survivor of Shaken Baby Syndrome/Abusive Head Trauma (SBS/AHT) and a student at Kent State University pursuing her Master's Degree. Amber tells us the incredible story of how she found out that she was shaken as a baby and discusses the past research conducted and the current research she is conducting on SBS/AHT. What an honor to prem...