Kirsten A. Bechtel, MD, treats patients in the emergency department at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital (YNHCH), where she specializes in forensic medicine and has special expertise in child abuse. She is the medical director of the Pediatric Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program, which trains experts in proper collection of forensic evidence and has greatly enhanced the accuracy of assessments of these patients.
“Our children’s emergency department is a Level 1 trauma center that has exceptional subspecialty care for vulnerable children, such as those with abuse and neglect, sexual assault, domestic minor sex trafficking and behavioral health emergencies,” says Dr. Bechtel, who is an associate professor of pediatrics and of emergency medicine.
In addition to providing emergency care, Dr. Bechtel sees patients with a broad variety of other complaints and is co-principal investigator for the Injury Free Coalition for Kids at YNHCH, a program anchored in research, education and advocacy. She says the emergency room can be a difficult place for families, and she tries to reassure parents, telling them, “You are doing a beautiful job with this child. You just need a little bit of help right now, and I am going to provide that for you.” She says, “I also make sure parents and kids are comfortable during their stay in the ED, getting them warm blankets and pillows, hot coffee or tea for the parents, popsicles for the patients and their siblings, things for the kids to do like coloring books and crayons, bubbles, toys.”
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