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To enhance services for women and families suffering with domestic violence, Stamford Hospital and the Stamford-based Domestic Violence Crisis Center are forming a new partnership. "Our goal is to educate all hospital employees as to how to identify victims, especially women, earlier in the cycle of injury," Mary Henwood-Klotz, of Stamford Hospital's Center for Integrative Medicine & Wellness, said in a statement. "We look forward to working closely with the DVCC on this initiative and further developing all aspects of the partnership."
The integrated program merges services provided by crisis center's Medical Advocacy Project with the hospital's health-care professionals.
"Health-care providers across the United States have become increasingly aware that addressing domestic violence as part of comprehensive patient care is not only a moral responsibility, but also a social necessity," said Susan Delaney, director of the crisis center's Medical Advocacy Project.
Studies show that chronic domestic violence has "a devastating impact on the health of victims and their children," Delaney said. "Thanks to the enthusiastic response by Stamford Hospital medical professionals and their recognition that domestic violence is an underreported and serious issue with many patients, we have been able to develop a working relationship in a very short period of time."
Delaney said the CDC estimates the yearly cost of intimate-partner violence is more than $5.8 billion.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recognize domestic violence as the primary cause of injury in the United States to women ages 15 and 44. More domestic violence-related injuries occur than injuries caused by muggings, rapes and car accidents combined, the statement says.
The hospital already adheres to domestic violence health-care standards. However, through the partnership it will adopt CDC's RADAR system, which enhances health care providers' domestic violence screening.
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