HPD Perspectives Magazine Summer/Fall 2019

6 | DR. PALLAVI PATEL COLLEGE OF HEALTH CARE SCIENCES ‘‘ commonplace. Most recently, a new requirement for Florida nurses to earn continuing edu- cation credits in human traffick- ing for their license renewal is empowering nurses to identify and aid trafficking victims. Empathy, commitment to justice, and strong will to achieve emerged in Schaeffer’s early years. “I came from humble beginnings and a difficult childhood. Bully- ing from (wealthy) peers was a common occurrence. However, I focused on my education to rise above; and even as a kid, I knew I would one day help others overcome,” she explained. She graduated from the University of Miami as valedic- torian in both of her college majors while volunteering at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, the Laubach Literary Foundation, Take Stock in Children, and other organizations. As a physi- cian, Schaeffer has dedicated time to private and public health care, including to the Depart- ment of Health. THE MULTIPLIER EFFECT Building partnerships to create change is one of Schaeffer’s unique gifts. “Collaborating with knowl- edgeable community partners like NSU has made a broader impact. I am especially passionate to reach the next generation of health care workers, particularly because there was no instruction on human trafficking during my own medical school and resi- dency training,” she noted. “Teaching human trafficking indicators to high school, college, and medical school students has been rewarding,” she added. “Moreover, it has been a privilege to educate doctors working in several of Florida’s hospitals.” Schaeffer serves on the advisory boards for NSU’s Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences (PCHCS), as well as the NSU Coalition for Research and Education Against Trafficking and Exploitation (CREATE). Prior to these roles, she served three years as a community adviser to NSU’s project HEAT (Health Educators Against Trafficking) before it became CREATE in 2015. “Over the past 10 years, Schaeffer has been one of the strongest supporters of our research and efforts to raise awareness of human trafficking among the medical and allied health care professions. Her kind generosity provided a private gift that allowed us to expand NSU’s project HEAT into NSU CREATE,” said Sandrine Gaillard-Kenney, Ed.D., cofounder of CREATE. Also a cofounder of CREATE, Brianna Black Kent, Ph.D., R.N., added that Schaeffer’s talents along with her donation made it possible to expand the team’s scope of work. “She is committed to building partnerships and strengthening relationships between law enforcement and human trafficking advocacy groups in the South Florida tri-county area,” Kent said. “Within the NSU community, CREATE also formed collabora- tive partnerships with the College of Optometry, the College of Dental Medicine, and the College of Psychology,” Kent added. Dare to care—don’t just ‘treat and street.’ Be a true champion for your patients. This must include being knowledgeable about human trafficking, as we cannot ‘do no harm’ if we are seeing patients without having human trafficking as part of our differential diagnosis.” —Heidi Schaeffer DARING CARE TO