The flash player was unable to start. If you have a flash blocker then try unblocking the flash content - it should be visible below.
Human trafficking can affect young people from any racial, ethnic, religious and socioeconomic background. It is important for clinicians to be familiar with these issues as human trafficking victims are also patients.
Sean G., M.D. - July 7, 2015 2:57 AM
WOW! What a segment. I am ashamed I was so clueless. Not only am I sure I have had some of these victims as patients, I believe I just had one a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately the community I serve is rife with Meth and heroin abuse. The meth users are notorious for lying and are very manipulative, and it is so rare any of them SERIOUSLY want to stop using(at least the folks I have met) it is very easy to get jaded and see these pts as "just another meth head" Well I had a deaf woman of 20 yrs who initially denied meth use, but later admitted, to "in the past" then Yeasterday...we all thought it was sort of funny that when she said yesterday, due to her speech impediment it sounded more like "yeah today" So as I took her from never used, to used a while ago to used this week to Yet taday ...I said "yeah today?" I know its kind of a mean thing but I couldnt resist because her pulse rate was 120 at rest and I was pretty sure the real answer was "today" . Anyhow she had signed in because she was bleeding vaginally LMP a month ago...which again brought some snickers from triage as she was signing in about 3 am while high on meth for what sounded like her menses. She told me she had "4 babies and was pretty certain she was pregnant" I really thought she was just "tweaking" and confused...we get a lot of people high on meth that sign it and can't really explain why they have done so, often they leave before they are called back, even with very short waits. Well she was not pregnant and when she was d/c a cravenly appearing man who looked to be 70 but was probably 50 came to take her home. he was her "boyfriend" most of staff assumed he was just some guy that "got the girl the drugs she wanted" well thanks to this segment....Deaf= vulnerable young lady 4 babies by 20= maybe sad commentary on society...but maybe a sex abused child who obviously was pregnant as a minor multiple times. Old creepy guy picking her up clearly may be a trafficker. Her signing in for the bleeding may have truly been a cry for help, and sadly she probably felt we were more concerned with judging her drug usage and "promiscuity" so if there was any chance she would open up, I and my staff did a damn good job of screwing that up. She seems like a classic victim to me now because of this segment. I honestly thought this was mainly an issue in Mexico Croatia, Thailand etc...surely not here....how unbelievably stupid and arrogant of me,. Emrap, thank u for a well needed slap in the face. I will try to dig this young lady's record up and re contact with her and see if I can actually doctor her this time instead of judging her.
Ruth D. - July 16, 2015 4:37 AM
We have all missed these patients. Awareness is key, then developing an index of suspicion, and asking the questions is how we are identifying men, women and children that have been exploited. Find your local resources, and if you have a coalition, just a phone call will bring a social worker to your ER to offer resources and a way out of "the life". We can make a huge difference in the lives of these victims. They are being restored and regaining independence as a result of someone seeing through the outer layer. I have a feeling you will be seeing victims now and offering a way out.
Sean G., M.D. - July 17, 2015 1:18 PM
I think u are correct about that....thanks to this program I will. Another slam dunk for Emrap! Im glad our favorite sheep herder threw off his swag bag, got up from under the billy bong tree, and stowed away on that barge to the New World....arriving at USC and shouting to the masters there...."i come to larn"!
Sara L. - September 30, 2015 6:15 PM
I cannot express how much this segment moved me. Ms. Flores especially was compelling; at one point I was driving along I-94 in Detroit and felt my chest constrict and breathing become shallow as I passed a motel eerily similar to the one she refers to in her talk.
I can think of two patients I was worried about in the last few weeks. Both I am sure were trafficked. But I did not know how to help them, or even where to start. I knew something was wrong.
I can help them now. At least I know the hotline number. It’s a place to start.
Thank you so much for offering this to your subscribers.