Dignity Health | Be well | Spring 2018

by Holly Austin Gibbs, a survivor of child sex trafficking and a national expert on human trafficking. “There really wasn’t a road map for educating staff and introducing protocols for identifying victims of human trafficking,” Helms says. So Dignity Health developed much of our program from the ground up. Every hospital in the Dignity Health system has its own task force. And each one adapts protocols to fit their community—be it a big city or a rural county. “In larger metro areas, it’s assumed trafficking already is an issue,” Helms says. “Their community partners are more aware of it. In a rural community, it’s a little different.” Helms’ task force has spent time building key partnerships with local agencies, including the Office of the District Attorney, Child Protective Services, and the Siskiyou Domestic Violence and Crisis Center. “We can do what we can in the context of our rural hospital, but if we don’t have wraparound support from the community, it’s going to be challenging,” Helms says. “So it’s not just about us. It’s about the community as well.” Recognizing and reaching out What alerts hospital staff that a victim of human trafficking is in their ED? “Some of the signs we look for are someone whose companion an- swers all their questions for them,” says Helms. “A companion who is domineering or won’t leave the patient alone. A person without any ID or paperwork. If it’s a female and we suspect sex trafficking, someone with reproductive health issues. If it’s labor trafficking, we look for fatigue, malnourishment, heat exhaustion, or dehydration.” They also look for tattoo “branding”—“anything that refers to money or possession,” Helms adds. If the person is a minor, Child Protective Services is called. If the patient is an adult, staff gently offers information about area resources and offers to put them in touch with the National Human Trafficking Hotline. “We let them know we’re worried their situation is unsafe. We give them opportunities to get out,” Helms says. But staff members don’t push or force. “We trust that they know the safety level of their situa- tion better than we do.” Mercy Medical Center Mt. Shasta has used the HTR protocol more than once, says Helms. It’s an ongo- ing learning process. But Dignity Health is working to make sure that no one who’s being trafficked goes unnoticed. WHAT MORE CAN YOU DO? dignityhealth.org/hello-humankindness/human-trafficking 15 Hannah Helms What is new is Dignity Health’s focus on educating health care workers, first responders, and the com- munity on how to recognize the signs and offer victims a way out. Why it’s a health matter “An article in the journal Annals of Health Law found that nearly 88 percent of trafficking victims reported some contact with the health industry during the time they were being exploited,” Helms says. Hospital emergency departments (EDs) may be one of the few places a person who is being trafficked has contact with the community. But hospital workers weren’t routinely trained to identify people in need of help. The chance to intervene was being missed. So the same year the Annals of Health Law study came out, Dignity Health launched the Human Trafficking Response (HTR) program. Our goal: to ensure that people being trafficked are identified in the health care setting and assisted with care and services. Building bridges in the community It was important to Dignity Health that our program be led by those most familiar with the world of human exploitation: the survivors. So our HTR program is headed up Dignity Health North State