Haruv Institute - Annual Report 2017

THE HARUV CHILDREN'S CAMPUS

The year 2017 was marked by focusing on the absorption and adaptation of the professional teams to their new professional surroundings at the new Haruv Children's Campus, along with the implementation of professional procedures. The first meeting of the professional seminar took place, as well as the absorption of students from the Hebrew University into the various units on campus. The network of medical clinics operating on campus was opened, and decision-making forums were consolidated (the Directors’ Forum that convenes every three months to reach professional decisions; the Policy-Making Forum that convenes every two to three months to address macro issues that surface from the field; the campus’s Academic Forum that ratifies the academic program). Additionally, a great number of delegations from Israel and abroad visited the new campus and were introduced to the unique treatment model the campus offers. Opening of the Dental Clinic 75% of the incidents of physical abuse of children cause injuries to the head, face, neck and mouth. The abusers may refrain from turning to a general practitioner or to an HMO clinic, but in most cases they will seek out a dentist to get treatment. Thus, it is the dentists who have the rare opportunity of identifying cases of child maltreatment. Dentists are often the first to extend help to victims of abuse, in addition to being their initial line of protection. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to perform an intraoral and perioral examination whenever suspicion of maltreatment arises. Dental injuries include: broken and missing teeth, hemorrhages, cuts, broken jaw bones and burns. In addition to injuries caused by abuse, there are dental phenomena that result from neglect. Cavities and gingivitis may cause severe pain and infections, and even loss of functionality due to lack of treatment. Dentists who provide treatment to victims of maltreatment and care for their dental health do far more than to facilitate physical healing - they also restore the victim’s smile (more than just by dental work alone), and play a part in the psychological healing process following the trauma they’ve experienced. For those children residing in emergency centers, the fact that the dental services provided to the community-at-large are neither accessible nor available to them, prevents them from undergoing and completing treatment within the short time span of their stay at the emergency shelters. Furthermore, though the new reform in general dental health care includes “general maintenance”, it does not provide rehabilitative or orthodontic treatments that are so essential to these children. The dental clinic operating on campus, in collaboration with the Hadassah Hospital, Mt. Scopus, provides availability and accessibility with professional and high-quality care, suited to the singular characteristics of these children – and, most importantly, gives concentrated short-term treatment that will guarantee that those children residing in an emergency shelter for a short time, will successfully complete the complex dental treatment they need. Thus, the ones who benefit, first and foremost, are the children who receive concentrated, professional care. Additionally, the dentistry students and residents – dentists of the future – are exposed to working with a population which they hardly ever encounter. Thus, these future dentists will have a far greater awareness of the issue of child abuse, and we will be doubly rewarded: We will make these crucial treatments accessible to the children, while training a new generation of dentists with expertise in treating child victims of abuse and neglect. In the future, the campus will be serving an additional population - children with special needs who are victims of maltreatment. These children require professional care that specializes both in the difficulties resulting from their special needs as well as the trauma they have experienced.

ANNUAL REPORT 2017 I 83