Profile: Insuring the Children

Charlie Miller gets somber when he describes Insuring the Children (ITC). “Part of our mission is to raise awareness about child abuse. We also need trained medical professionals who can recognize and treat abuse effectively, which is why the Child Abuse Fellowship Program is so important,” Miller states. As president of the ITC Board of Directors, Mr. Miller is one of the Fellowship Program’s most committed advocates.

The two-year Fellowship Program at the Mayerson Center for Safe and Healthy Children at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital is one of only nine child abuse training programs nationwide. Fellows develop expertise in clinical areas including physical and sexual child
abuse and medical neglect. The program propels physicians into academic and clinical careers in child abuse and forensic pediatrics.

“The program is going into its third year. We’re glad that child abuse will soon become a sub-board of pediatrics, just like emergency medicine or cardiology,” says current Mayerson Center Program Director Dr. Kathi Makoroff. The Mayerson Center was one of the first programs in child abuse pediatrics, and the strong tradition of teaching at the hospital has helped the program gain national recognition. The fellows are scattered around the country, in various hospitals and private practices. Each one is working in child abuse pediatrics.

Dr. Makoroff has been at the Mayerson Center since the beginning of the program and is proud of the mark it has made. She says, “Our fellows get the best training we can offer. When they leave here, they tell us they feel as prepared as possible to take on this challenging work. We also want our fellows to become compassionate, caring, communicative physicians because we know that makes a world of difference to the kids we ultimately want to help.”