PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley doesn't believe this move by LVHN changes much. He says it's not just an issues with a single doctor, it's a system-wide problem. "That's not the answer that I want to hear," Pinsley said. "For me, I want to talk about the process, right? Like I really want to say, 'what are the changes that we can make it there is a process problem?' Where are the hospitals in this?'"Pinsley and the Parents Medical Rights' Group are calling on Northampton and Lehigh County Commissioners to step in and help change the processes and procedures with it comes to child abuse cases. They want the county to hire a third-party to evaluate how child abuse reports are made, as well as the county to demand a second opinion by a specialized doctor when a child abuse report is being considered."
--------------------------------------------
STORY: "Embattled LVHN doctor replaced, but families say more still needs to be done," by Reporter Blakely McHugh, published by WFMZ, on September 8, 2023.
GIST: Changes are coming to the Lehigh Valley Health Network's John Van Brakle Child Advocacy Center (CAC) .LVHN says it has a hired a new medical director to replace Dr. Debra Esernio-Jenssen.
"We're happy that Dr. Jenssen is no longer head of the child protection team at LVHN," Kimberly Steltz, co-founder of the Parents Medical Rights' Group said. "We feel it's a move that should have been made years ago."
LVHN says after a year-long search, Dr. Sarah Kleinle will take over as medical director. The now-former medical director, Dr. Jenssen, will "be providing care part time in other network locations."
We asked LVHN for clarification with regard to "other network locations," to which the hospital responded by saying she will not be at the CAC where Dr. Kleinle is the new director.
Despite this change, Steltz, whose organization represents more than 50 families, says they're still concerned things won't be different at LVHN.
"The best analogy I can give is when an apple is rotten to the core, cutting out a tiny piece on the on the bottom is not going to rectify the situation," Steltz said.
Dr. Jenssen has been at the center of controversy in recent weeks.
Dozens of families claim they have been victims of child abuse claims at the hands of Jenssen.
They allege she medically kidnapped their children, performed unnecessary procedures, and bullied CYS workers into doing what she said.
"We lost custody of our son with no investigation. Just Dr. Jenssen said so," a parent at the Northampton County Commissioners meeting said Thursday night.
Lehigh County Controller Mark Pinsley doesn't believe this move by LVHN changes much. He says it's not just an issues with a single doctor, it's a system-wide problem.
"That's not the answer that I want to hear," Pinsley said. "For me, I want to talk about the process, right? Like I really want to say, 'what are the changes that we can make it there is a process problem?' Where are the hospitals in this?'"
Pinsley and the Parents Medical Rights' Group are calling on Northampton and Lehigh County Commissioners to step in and help change the processes and procedures with it comes to child abuse cases.
They want the county to hire a third-party to evaluate how child abuse reports are made, as well as the county to demand a second opinion by a specialized doctor when a child abuse report is being considered.
LVHN has previously stated:
"Due to the sensitive nature of their work, physicians specializing in child protective medicine are often the unfortunate target of emotionally driven and unsubstantiated criticism.”
"Dr. Debra Esernio-Jenssen, MD, is board-certified in child protective medicine. She does not initiate child abuse cases. Cases of suspected abuse are referred to the CAC through the state reporting system. At the CAC, when Dr. Jenssen and her team evaluate a case, they collaborate with the child’s medical team. The vast majority of the time they do not find evidence of child abuse, which is consistent with national averages.”
"LVHN clinicians do not unilaterally make the final determination whether child protective services intervention is appropriate in cases of alleged child abuse or neglect."
"A medical examination is one component among many factors, including evidence, photos, and witnesses that are considered by the judicial system or child protective services, who ultimately make the final decision about protective services""
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/47049136857587929
FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices.
Lawyer Radha Natarajan;
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
—————————————————————————————————
FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
------------------------------------------------------------------
YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:
David Hammond, one of Broadwater’s attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, “Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it’s the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.”
https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-1234880143/
------------------------------------------------
Saturday, September 9, 2023
Beleaguered Lehigh Health Network: Munchausen's Syndrome by Proxy: Embattled Medical Director Dr. Debra Esenio-Jenssen has been replaced, but families say that's not enough, WFMZ (Reporter Blakely McHugh) reports…"We're happy that Dr. Jenssen is no longer head of the child protection team at LVHN," Kimberly Steltz, co-founder of the Parents Medical Rights' Group said. "We feel it's a move that should have been made years ago."… Dr. Jenssen has been at the center of controversy in recent weeks. Dozens of families claim they have been victims of child abuse claims at the hands of Jenssen. They allege she medically kidnapped their children, performed unnecessary procedures, and bullied CYS workers into doing what she said. "We lost custody of our son with no investigation. Just Dr. Jenssen said so," a parent at the Northampton County Commissioners meeting said Thursday night."
