LANCASTER : Suspected Abuse Victims Can Be Examined Remotely

A high-tech program unveiled Monday will allow suspected victims of child abuse in the Antelope Valley to be examined by medical experts working in Los Angeles, saving the children a time-consuming, often unsettling 150-mile round trip.

In a Lancaster hospital room decorated with Disney characters, children will be examined with a magnification device that can send video images over a telephone line to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center. Specialists there will help determine whether abuse has occurred.

County officials, who installed the equipment at High Desert Hospital, said the program is the first of its kind in the nation. They also plan to expand it to Olive View Medical Center in Sylmar and other locations in the near future.

The medical link between High Desert and County-USC is a key component of the new Antelope Valley Abuse Network Team, which also includes representatives of the district attorney’s office, Sheriff’s Department, Children’s Services and the Children’s Center of the Antelope Valley.

Under the program, children at High Desert will be examined by nurses with specialized training who will look for signs of abuse, then transmit video images to physicians at County-USC who can direct the nurse through a headset during an examination.