Dr. Dayton Advocates For Children

“We take them to a safe place,” said Dr. Michelle Dayton referring to the child friendly room where children may be taken for an interview if it is believed that they may have suffered physical or sexual abuse or have been neglected. Dayton is an emergency room physician at Southeast Ohio Regional Medical Center and is President of the Board of the Children’s Advocacy Center located on Highland Avenue in Cambridge. In speaking to the Cambridge Lions Club, Dayton reported that before the creation of the advocacy center two years ago, children often had to retell their experiences twelve times before being required to tell it again in court. “They had to relive the trauma of repeating their experience,” Dayton said. “We have a special room at SEORMC where we can gather the forensic evidence in cases of alleged sexual assaults,” Dayton said. “We prefer having them there because the equipment to treat them is right there if there has also been a physical assault. We have people who have been trained and certified to gather the evidence using established procedures that will stand up in court.” “When children are referred to the advocacy center by children’s services, law enforcement, or the hospital, they are interviewed by people who have been trained to work with children,” Dayton said. “We tape the interview with a closed circuit camera. This tape can then be reviewed by others so that the child does not have to repeat it so often.” Evidence gathered at the hospital and at the advocacy center can be used in court. “The tape can be reviewed by the prosecutor’s office,” Dayton said. “With this evidence those guilty of abuse or neglect often plead out instead of going to court.” "Healing can begin when children tell their stories,” Dayton said. “We also offer educational materials for the family so they will know how to handle this disaster.” The center serves not only Guernsey County but other surrounding counties. “All those who work at the center donate their time, but we do have expenses for the equipment and the materials,” said Dayton. To raise funds for the center, the first annual O.S.U. Extravaganza will be held on October 18 at the Cambridge Eagles on E. Wheeling Ave. The event will include children’s games, a live and a silent auction, raffles and drawings for prizes including O.S.U. items. Contact Melissa Keylor at 740.439.5555 ext. 263 for tickets or more information. The Buckeyes play Michigan State on Oct. 18.