WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. introduced the Trafficking Awareness Training for Health Care Amendment to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015, to help medical professionals identify and stop human trafficking. The amendment, first introduced in the Senate with U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), will provide for the development and dissemination of evidence-based best practices for health care professionals to recognize victims of trafficking and respond effectively.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a similar bill introduced by Reps. Renee Ellmers (R-NC) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL).
Watch Dr. Cassidy’s remarks HERE and see excerpts below:
“… I rise as a doc, a fellow who has practiced in a public hospital system for 32 years, understanding the unique role nurses, physicians and other health care providers play in this issue.
“Health care providers are front line, and one of the few to interact directly with trafficked women and children….
“The Trafficking Awareness Training for Health Care Amendment would save lives, and as importantly, would begin the rebuilding of lives destroyed by modern day slavery. It would provide for the development of best practices to enable health care workers to recognize and assist victims of human trafficking.
“It is proven that many trafficking victims report receiving health care from federally funded clinics and emergency rooms while in captivity, yet as mentioned earlier, go undetected. This legislation would improve the awareness of health care workers, ultimately helping these victims.
“Having passed the U.S. House by unanimous consent, this amendment represents a bipartisan effort that will enable the medical community to bring relief to those suffering in ways that those of us who have never been there cannot imagine…”
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