Hospitals Adopt Memorial’s Child Abuse Prevention Program

Memorial Hospital’s child abuse prevention program has spread across the state and country.

Every new parent at Memorial is required to complete The Crying Baby program which educates the family about what to do when they become frustrated with their child and the potential consequences of being physical with a baby.

“Parkview Hospital has been working to integrate this into their system, as has Evans Hospital on Fort Carson,” said Sally Duncan, Memorial’s Trauma Outreach and Injury Prevention Specialist.

Duncan said she’s gotten calls about the program from hospitals around the nation since Memorial started it in 2009.

After a birth, new parents and family members are required to spend about 15 minutes with a nurse and watch a short video . The message is simple.

“If you’re frustrated, the baby’s crying and you’re under a lot of stress, it’s OK to set the baby down and walk away, you don’t have to solve the problem right away,” said Duncan.

She said frustration with a crying baby leads to a lot of child abuse deaths, especially among infants. A baby’s brain has delicate blood vessels that can easily break and cause brain bleeding if a child is shaken or thrown.

Every person who completes the program has to sign a form pledging not to abuse their child. Parents keep a copy which includes the phone number for KPC Kids Place , a center in Colorado Springs that provides free care for children if parents feel overwhelmed.

Valerie Blancas learned about the Crying Baby program when her niece was born at Memorial.

“I was very surprised they were putting out awareness about child abuse and shaken baby syndrome,” said Blancas.

It was information she and her then husband didn’t get when they had their child in Denver in 2009. Eight weeks later, Blancas’ ex killed their little boy. He said he was frustrated by the baby’s crying.

“He had shaken him and taken him upstairs and threw him in the bed,” said Blancas.

She said she believes Memorial’s program could have made a difference for her son, Matthew.

“I think that if I would have had the opportunity when I brought my baby home, my spouse and I would have communicated about it and I think we would have prepared ourselves much better for different scenarios.”

Blancas ex, Stephen Dailey, was sentenced to 34 years in prison.