HEAL and HEAT Institute
H.E.A.T. Institute - HEAL Trafficking - Levitt Center: Human Trafficking Response Protocols
Between 2017 and 2019, HEAL Trafficking provided technical assistance to the Human Exploitation and Trafficking (H.E.A.T.) Institute of the District Attorneys office of Alameda County, California to guide the development and implementation of trafficking response protocols in four local hospitals, based on the HEAL Trafficking and Hope for Justice Protocol Toolkit for Developing a Response to Trafficking Victims in Health Care Settings. The effort was coordinated by HEAL board president Dr. Susie Baldwin with Ms. Carla Dartis, HEAT Institute Coordinator for the Alameda County District Attorney Office, and Dr. Harrison Alter, Founding Executive Director of the Andrew Levitt Center for Social Emergency Medicine at Highland Hospital. Four HEAL Trafficking leaders and consultants, Drs. Lela Bachrach, Kimberly Chang, Tonya Chaffee, and Aisha Mays worked with champions and teams in each hospital to provide guidance and standardize processes across different institutions as much as possible.
Drs. Baldwin, Harrison, and Ms. Dartis organized 5 Regional Learning Exchange meetings that brought together teams from all of the hospitals, along with community based partner organizations, to share successes, face challenges together, and move toward a standardized regional response for adult and child victims of labor and sex trafficking. In addition, Ms. Dartis worked with HEAL Trafficking, survivor leaders, and community based organizations to deliver essential trainings on human trafficking and trauma informed care to hospital staff. Dr. Kimberly Chang partnered with the Alameda Contra Costa Medical Association to host a special 3 hour evening forum on the project, which included hospital champions, community based organizations, HEAL consultants, and District Attorney Nancy O’Malley as speakers.
This project was generously funded by the H.E.A.T Institute, Kaiser Permanente Oakland Community Benefit Program, and the United Lutheran Church of Oakland.
A comprehensive report describing the project, the Alameda County Standardized Regional Protocol, and other materials are shared below. For more information about Technical Assistance for Protocol Development and Implementation from HEAL Trafficking, please contact info@HEALTrafficking.org.