Curbside Consult

Introduction

Curbside Consults: Concise insights from child abuse pediatricians

Each case is a clinical situation analyzed by a child abuse expert. Designed for busy healthcare professionals, each consult highlights key considerations such as examination protocols, medical and reporting guidelines, and appropriate next steps grounded in current best practices. Drawings, photographs, checklists and recommended resources support future decision-making.

This resource does not replace a referral to a child abuse pediatrician or other healthcare professional.

For more comprehensive information about the evaluation and treatment of suspected child abuse, see Child Abuse Evaluation and Treatment for Medical Providers, also on this website, or take the free Evaluating Child Sexual Abuse course on our companion website CHAMPprogram.com.

To suggest changes or additions to the content, email champ@upstate.edu.

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Contributors

Editors

Ann S. Botash, MD, and Trish Booth, MA, were primarily responsible for the original idea and framework for the modules. They reviewed all content, provided feedback, and worked with the authors to guide the overall structure and focus of the series.

Case Authors

Abusive Head Trauma
Vincent J. Palusci, MD, MS

Dr. Palusci is a board certified general and child abuse pediatrician and professor of pediatrics at New York University Grossman School of Medicine. He works at NYU Langone Health and Bellevue Hospital in New York City and is a senior medical consultant for the NYC Administration for Children's Services Medical Consultation Program.

Evaluating for Abuse in a Child with a Disability
Lori Legano, MD

Dr. Legano is a board certified child abuse pediatrician, an Associate Professor of Pediatrics, and Director of Child Protection Services at Bellevue Hospital, New York University Grossman School of Medicine.

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)
Ingrid Walker-Descartes, MD, MPH, MBA, FAAP

Dr. Walker-Descartes is a board certified child abuse pediatrician and an Assistant Professor at SUNY Downstate School of Medicine, the Department of Pediatrics Vice Chair of Education, Program Director of the Pediatrics Residency Training Program and Fellowship Director of the Child Abuse Fellowship Training Program, and Clinical Director of Child Maltreatment Services at the Maimonides Children's Hospital of Brooklyn.

Sentinel Injuries
Alicia Pekarsky, MD, FAAP

Dr. Pekarsky is a board certified general and child abuse pediatrician and Associate Professor of Pediatrics at SUNY Upstate Medical University where she is the Division Director of Child Abuse Pediatrics and the Director of the Child Abuse Pediatrics Fellowship Program. In addition, she is the Co-Medical Director of the Child Abuse Referral and Evaluation (CARE) Program at the McMahon Ryan Child Advocacy Center.

Skull Fractures
James Metz, MD, MPH

Dr. Metz is a board certified child abuse pediatrician and an Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Child Abuse Medicine at the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital.

Burns
Heather Ross, MD

Dr. Ross is a board certified child abuse pediatrician and an assistant professor of child abuse pediatrics at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York.

Femur Fractures
Jamie Hoffman-Rosenfeld, MD

Jamie Hoffman-Rosenfeld, MD, is an Albert Einstein College of Medicine faculty member and an Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at State University of New York Purchase College. Dr. Hoffman-Rosenfeld is a specialist in Child Abuse Pediatrics and active in the New York Chapter of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children.

Project Team

These team members participated in the planning and overall development of the project and helped with editing, reviewing, and refining the materials.

• Dana Kaplan, MD, Director of Child Abuse and Neglect, Department of Pediatrics, Staten Island University Hospital; Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra-Northwell; Medical Director for the Staten Island Child Advocacy Center; and the Associate Program Director for the Pediatrics Residency Training Program at Staten Island University Hospital.
• JoAnne Race, MS, Project Manager
• Marie Williams, Webmaster