Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence


			FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 15, 2002 EAST SIDE RESIDENT MAKES PRESENTATION AT NATIONAL FAMILY VIOLENCE CONFERENCE Coalition's Project SAFE Initiative Selected as One of the Best in the Nation (COLUMBUS) - Family violence experts from around the nation gathered to hear East Side resident Beverly Roseman-Shapiro, LISW, explain how a Columbus-based program identifies and helps pregnant victims of family violence at the recent 2002 National Conference on Health Care and Domestic Violence in Atlanta, sponsored by the Family Violence Prevention Fund. Roseman-Shaprio is a domestic violence coordinator with the Project SAFE program, which was selected as a national best practice model. At the conference, Roseman-Shapiro participated in a panel discussion titled: "Research and Practice on Screening for Domestic Violence Victimization in Health Settings." The panelists discussed strategies for identifying family violence victims now being developed around the country at other hospitals and by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Project SAFE (Safety Assessment for Everyone) is an initiative of the Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence and has operated at The Ohio State University Medical Center's OB-GYN clinic since summer 2000. Funded by a Coalition grant, it identifies pregnant women who are in abusive relationships, and refers them to local resources for help. Women under the care of The Ohio State University Medical Center's OB-GYN clinic are asked twice during their pregnancies about abuse at home. During her first visit, the patient completes a short questionnaire that includes questions about her home life. Then, during a visit in her seventh month as part of a routine glucose test, her doctor asks follow up questions about the father's reaction to her pregnancy, if she feels safe at home and if there has been any abuse. If the patient indicates a problem or abuse either time, she is referred to knowledgeable sources for help. This includes being enrolled in the clinic's High Risk Perinatal Project where she will receive additional care and monitoring of her pregnancy, and being referred to CHOICES, the local domestic violence shelter and organization. "Abuse during pregnancy is common and can increase as a result of the pregnancy. Research in the Journal of the American Medical Association says it affects up to 20% - one in five - pregnant women. In some situations, abuse can lead to homicide," Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence Executive Director Karen S. Days said. Homicide is the leading cause of death from injury of pregnant women, based on two national studies published in the Journal of Trauma and the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. "Project SAFE helps make pregnant victims safer by screening them for abuse twice during their pregnancies. Over the past two years 1,139 women have been screened and 57 were found to be at risk for abuse. Clearly the program works," she added. Roseman-Shapiro works with another coordinator Patti Fertel, LISW. They are under the direction of Dr. Mark Landon, the vice chairman of The Ohio State University Medical Center's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Project SAFE also trains Ohio State University Medical Center's OB-GYN residents to ask these questions when they see patients and to recognize and document signs of abuse in patients. Once trained, the goal is that the residents will screen patients in their own private practices. The Coalition will begin replicating Project SAFE at other local hospitals and city clinics in early 2003. The Coalition focuses its work on five touch points - where the victim and societal institutions intersect - with task forces working to create systemic change. These task forces are: Business Community/Public Education, Faith Community, Health Care, Legal System and Victim Services. Founded in 1998, The Columbus Coalition Against Family Violence is comprised of leaders from businesses and organizations in Central Ohio committed to reforming our systems to stop the cycle of violence in our community. To learn more, call 614-722-5985 or visit out Web site at www.TheColumbusCoalition.org.