UMC hosts “Pinwheels for Prevention” event

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - One of Lubbock’s hospitals has set up its memorial for the victims of child abuse in our region.

UMC Children’s Hospital is holding its “Pinwheels for Prevention” event to raise awareness of child abuse in April. Each of these children’s toys symbolizes a victim.

Staff at UMC Children’s Hospital put pinwheels in the courtyard for visitors and patients to see. The pinwheels will be there all month.

Dr. Brian Payne, chief medical officer for UMC Children’s Hospital, says supporting these victims is a life-long pursuit and has noticed a recent increase in child abuse, partially due to increased isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We did see an increase in the amount of abuse. That’s why this past year, we had more cases of abuse that resulted in fatalities than in previous years. One of the difficulties was that some of these children were not known to be abused. It wasn’t until they started going back with their teachers and being back in the community that it was noted what was going on and the children were being abused”, he said.

Dr. Payne says 22 children have died in the last ten years due to child abuse, and four of those have been this past year.

Copyright 2022 KCBD. All rights reserved.