Prevent Child Abuse America is pleased to present our new Board Chair and Vice-Chair.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Chicago, IL, February, 26, 2010 - Prevent Child Abuse America is pleased to present our new Board Chair Christopher Greeley, MD, FAAP, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Center for Clinical Research and Evidence-Based Medicine, University of Texas Health Sciences Center at Houston and Board Vice-Chair Angelo P. Giardino, MD, PhD, MPH, Medical Director, Texas Children's Health Plan.

Dr. Greeley is board certified in pediatrics as well as Child Abuse Pediatrics, and is a member of the AMA and the AAP. He is a member of the AAP Section on Child Abuse and Neglect and Section on International Child Health. His main clinical interests are in International Child Health, Child Abuse and Neglect and vulnerable populations. Dr. Greeley was also the 2006 Ray E Helfer Award winner. The Ray E Helfer Award is an annual award jointly presented by The American Academy of Pediatrics and The National Alliance of Children’s Trust and Prevention Funds “to a distinguished pediatrician for his or her contribution to the prevention of child abuse and neglect.”

In terms of what Dr. Greeley hopes to accomplish, he had the following to say, “I want to build upon the prior great works of Prevent Child Abuse America. I want to strengthen the relationship with the state chapters. There is an obvious void at the national level for an organization that wants to bring all people to the table to create real and sustainable change for the vulnerable children in our country. Prevent Child Abuse America can be the organization to facilitate a shift in how we value children in our society. This will require generating new knowledge, crossing political and economic barriers, as well as engaging others in our communities who don’t typically see child abuse and neglect as “their problem.”

Dr. Giardino is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and a member of the Academic Pediatrics Association and Texas Pediatric Society where he is co-chair of the Children with Disabilities and serves on the Child Abuse and Neglect Committee. Most recently Dr. Giardino was named the principal investigator for an Avon Foundation supported project designed to train pediatric health care professionals about how to screen for Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in the pediatric healthcare setting.

When asked why he wanted to serve on the Prevent Child Abuse America board, Dr. Giardino said, “I chose to serve on this board because after working clinically for over 20 years evaluating children who have been abused I very much want to "go up stream" and stop the abuse before it happens and frankly, I'd like to put myself out of business in terms of having to evaluate children after the abusive events have traumatized their lives. Prevent Child Abuse America is the organization that I recognize as the leader in trying to get the word out that child abuse can in fact be prevented... it's not hopeless, it's not too hard... it's actually doable and requires all of us to put our minds together, lock our arms and do the heavy lifting to find the resources and invest in the projects, and programs and community efforts to help families develop the skills and find the help they need to raise their children in a safe and nurturing family environment. As a pediatrician, I get to see all the potential that children have I just want to be part of a group that works hard to help all those children grow up and realize all that potential and I can think of no other national organization that promotes that effort more than Prevent Child Abuse America.”

Both Dr. Greeley and Dr. Giardino also both recently sat for the first board examination for a new pediatric subspecialty recognized by the American Board of Pediatrics to ensure that more organized clinical research in the field will be conducted to support pediatricians and others who testify in court during child-abuse cases. As a result, pediatricians certified in child abuse pediatrics will have a more informed medical opinion about what is abuse versus what may be a medical condition.

“We are honored to have both Dr. Greeley and Dr. Giardino assume leadership roles on the board,” said James M. Hmurovich, President & CEO of Prevent Child Abuse America, “they have keen minds and a passion for this work. They are already having an impact on children’s lives and the communities they live in and we look forward to their providing guidance in furthering our efforts to do the same.”

Dr.’s Greeley and Giardino are joined as officers of the board by Board Treasurer Tom Carhart of New York City and Board Secretary Nancy Warren of Chicago.