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Human Trafficking and Healthcare | The Truth About Trafficking in Central Pa.

Studies say victims lose 20 years in life span without appropriate intervention and support through traumatic events.

YORK, Pa. — From the immediate physical and emotional healthcare concerns to the longer-term mental health and substance use issues, human trafficking survivors often need a complex array of health care services.  

Health issues can include sexually transmitted diseases, physical injuries, post traumatic stress disorder and depression among many others.

More than 60 percent of trafficking victims are seen at an emergency department. That's why healthcare workers are vital partners in the fight against human trafficking.  

As FOX43 found out, a person's life expectancy can actually be impacted by the treatment they receive when they finally seek care. 

"Some studies say you lose 20 years on your lifespan without appropriate intervention and support through these traumatic events," said Emily Huggins. She's the manager of the Forensic Examiner program at WellSpan York Hospital. It began out of need in 1988 and has really grown since the early 2000s.

"Abuse and trauma is a root cause of health disparity so we wanted to try and do better," she said.  And they have, making many updates to the unit over the last two decades with domestic violence and human trafficking victims in mind.  

"We need to first realize that these things happen, we need to recognize when we are seeing the signs in our patients and we need to react in a way that isn't going to re-traumatize the patient," Huggins said.  

That includes offering victims a safe and secure space to be seen in the forensic examiner suite. It's away from the chaotic emergency department where staff is specially trained to handle the immediate physical and emotional concerns a trauma patient may have.

WellSpan also offers an online training course for all employees to learn about what signs to look for in trafficking victims. Those warning signs are many but include appearing malnourished, showing signs of physical injuries and abuse, avoiding eye contact, social interaction or law enforcement, lacking identification, or having poor physical or dental health.  

"There is not one agency in our community that can do it all, so we have developed trusted partnerships like with the YWCA of York," Huggins explained. 

Crystal Perry is the Human Trafficking Advocacy Coordinator at the YWCA of York. Part of her job includes her going into school and businesses teaching about the warning signs. 

"It seems like every time we do a training with a different agency, within a week or two they are identifying something," Perry said. 

She also said it's important that people understand anyone can become a victim.

"I've had people who were making 6 figures lose their jobs and ended up getting trafficked because of their situation."

Approaching care from a trauma informed standpoint, both organizations hope to spread the word that human trafficking does exist in our area, and has for some time.  

"It's always here but now because of the education and knowledge, there's more of a light on it," Perry said.

For more information from the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, click here. 

Download the FOX43 app here.

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