Vermont Has First Certified Child Abuse Pediatrician

Vermont has its first certified pediatrician trained in recognizing child abuse.

Dr. Karyn Patno is a pediatrician at Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital in St. Johnsbury. She has set up two ChildSafe clinics that provide specialty child abuse care in Vermont.

The Caledonian Record reports as a brand new specialty, there are currently only about 400 certified child-abuse pediatricians in the nation.

Patno says since she started the ChildSafe clinic in 2008, she’s gone from seeing 50 patients to over 200 a year. She also consults over the phone, does case reviews with other pediatricians, and helps the state police on child pornography cases. She also does a lot of lecturing to law enforcement, family agencies and pediatrics residents.