Rescuing a victim of human trafficking is always an emergency, but experts say one of the hardest places to spot those victims is in a hospital emergency room. One health care organization in Genesee County will use a state grant to develop better ways of identifying and treating human trafficking victims. We talk with two members of the Genesys Health System.
Human trafficking is the fastest growing illegal activity in the world. It’s a multi-national, multi-billion dollar industry that exploits untold numbers of people for sexual slavery or forced labor. Its victims are male and female, old and young, immigrants and native-born.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has recently awarded grants to three social service organizations to combat the problem. The largest of these awards will go to the Genesys Health Foundation in Genesee County. The foundation will spend $50,000 to implement what it calls the Human Trafficking Emergency Room Hospital Pilot Program. The initiative will teach personnel in the ER how to identify and treat victims of human trafficking.
Current State talks with two members of the Genesee Health System. Dr. Alan Janssen is the director of emergency medicine residency, and Nicholas Evans is its vice-president of business.