“…endless energy and passion.”
Emergency Medicine
East Bay
“I was watching victims of domestic violence coming into and going out of the Emergency Department again and again, as though they were stuck in a revolving door.”
Using her background in public health and family medicine, Dr. Brigid McCaw from Richmond, developed a domestic violence prevention program that has gained national recognition and widespread implementation. The key to Dr. McCaw’s program is the integration of services-medical, psychological, emotional and environmental-that provide victims with the assurance that “there is another way”. Appropriately, that is the motto of the program.
Starting with her seemingly endless energy and passion, and a small grant from Kaiser Permanente, Dr. McCaw founded the Family Violence Prevention Center. The program gives clinicians the awareness and tools they need to make screening and referral a routine part of their practice, and also creates what McCaw calls a “supportive environment” with posters, cards and flyers that encourage patients to be more open about the issue with their provider. The need for this type of program is evident by its success; referrals from all departments have increased dramatically.
“In a busy practice, things can be overlooked unless they’re obvious, and abuse is seldom obvious,” says Dr. Michael Sdao. “This program has made screening almost second nature for me.”