This past Tuesday we had the honor of getting our H.E.R.O. inaugural honoree, Kanani Titchen, MD to jump on a Google Hangout with us to discuss the honorarium and her work building awareness around child sex trafficking. Dr. Titchen is a resident at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital-Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children and is Past President of the American Medical Women's Association Resident Division. Among many other things, she's also a former actress and a leader in a cause that, as we were surprised to learn (as much as she was), has undergone limited research and is relatively overlooked throughout hospitals and clinics in the U.S. - at least when you think about the amount of attention it should be getting.
This was Kanani's first time using Google Hangouts and we were very grateful to see that she's a quick study when it comes to technology, as she joined us for a discussion that was notably free of major technical issues. We were especially interested in providing our colleagues watching with a way to learn more about the topic of child sex trafficking and how to recognize the signs in a patient in order to prevent further abuse. As Kanani noted during the call, it is highly likely that a victim of human trafficking is going to visit a clinic or hospital for treatment at some point and there needs to be a discussion about how we can intervene and impact the lives of those that desperately need our help. Stay tuned for an educational video series that Dr. Titchen is working on in between her 24 hour shifts (did we mention she is a superhero?) and a brief stint working on humanitarian efforts in Nepal (see links below). For more information, please visit:
- The Polaris Project - Polaris Project is a leading organization in the global fight against human trafficking and modern-day slavery.
- Ghar Sita Mutu clinic by Beverly Bronson in Nepal - Please watch the video and donate!
- Listen to Dr. Titchen on WHYY's The Pulse
- See the full list of H.E.R.O. honorarium nominees
