The Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services has appointed Dr. Rebecca Hook as its first Medical Director to help with medical response efforts to child abuse and neglect. Amanda Brunson DCFS Assistant Secretary for Child Welfare says Hook will serve as an in-house clinical resource for case workers and staff.
“We get a lot of medical jargon from either some trying to report child abuse and neglect or autopsy results. And this is an opportunity for us to have somebody sit side by side with our staff and help them better understand it.”
Hook has worked as the pediatric emergency room physician at Our Lady of the Lake for eight years. She has also worked at OLOL Children’s Hospital since it opened. Brunson says Hook will also act as a subject matter expert for children and families.
“Foster parents may accept a child that has a diagnosis or even maybe diabetes or asthma. There are all kinds of ways we see her expertise spreading and impacting all the different aspects of child welfare.”
Since moving to the Bayou State, Hook has served as the medical representative on the multidisciplinary team for DCFS and the Baton Rouge Children’s Advocacy Center. When conflicting opinions from medical providers or a report come in, Brunson says Hook will consult on complex medical cases on child welfare.
“This is an opportunity for us to have somebody help us understand all of the technical terms that come across maybe from a report of abuse and neglect from a medical provider and help guide us down the right path.”
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