International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN)

Remembering Henry Kempe
A letter from Dr. Richard D. Krugman

In March 1967, C. Henry Kempe, MD, came to New York University and presented a Grand Rounds on “The Battered Child Syndrome.” I was captivated by his clarity of thought, his willingness to take on difficult issues, and his energy to change the work for children. That summer, I traveled to Denver and interviewed for an internship and residency position in Colorado. I arrived in Colorado in late June 1968 and had my first battered child case on December 1, 1968. Henry forced me to review the records of this child and his mother at three different hospitals, so we could get a picture of what was really happening. He pointed out that 27 different professionals could have prevented the death of this child, but none did. It was the beginning of a lifetime of education for me. I began to attend meetings of the Child Protection Team that Henry began in 1958 with Brandt Steele, MD, a wonderful psychiatrist.

In 1972, Henry started the National Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect in Denver. The Center trained and educated thousands of professionals throughout the United States and the world on how to recognize abused children, how to treat them and their families, and how to prevent abuse from occurring. As the field grew, Henry realized that the professionals doing this work needed support. They needed the support of a research base to inform their practice, and they needed opportunities to share their work and support each other. So Henry convened a group of key international professionals in Bellagio, Italy, to identify a way of creating this much-needed support.

Henry Kempe (front) with Richard
Krugman (right)

At this meeting, the idea of an international society was born, and soon afterwards, on July 7, 1977, the International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) was incorporated in Denver, Colorado. The date, July 7, 1977 (7-7-77), was thought to be a lucky and propitious day. The Society had two purposes: As an individual membership organization, different members would organize an International Congress every other year, and Henry, himself, began publication of Child Abuse & Neglect: the International Journal.

In 1980, I was on my way to Washington, DC, for a Health Policy Fellowship. I had covered the Child Protection Team during the previous decade, while Henry and his colleagues went to ISPCAN and other meetings. But before I left, Henry told me that he wanted me to direct the Center after my fellowship (or, he believed, I would become infected with the Potomac Fever virus and stay in Washington). I was never able to say no to him, and because he already had had several heart attacks and was moving to Hawaii, I said yes. He was right. If I hadn’t committed to direct the Center, I probably would still be in Washington. In 1981, I became director of the National Center, renamed the Kempe National Center after Henry’s death on March 7, 1984. Shortly thereafter, the first Congress in North America was held in Montreal. Many of our Canadian colleagues joined ISPCAN at that meeting. By then, ISPCAN had grown from being Henry’s organization to one that was governed by a strong Executive Council.

In 1986, I became Editor-in-Chief of the Journal, and held that position for fifteen years. In July 1990, I left the Center (temporarily I thought) to become Acting Dean of the University of Colorado School of Medicine, and then Dean in 1992. My own work with ISPCAN continued, and in 1992, the second North American Congress was held in Chicago. I became President that year and was delighted to serve in that role through the 1994 Congress in Kuala Lumpur.

I am still Dean, and now, since May 2007, also Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs at the University of Colorado as well. But on weekends I still take call for the Child Protection Team, as I have for the last 17 years, because some day I will need to go back to work at Henry’s Center (there is still so much to do), and also because of an important lesson Henry taught me long ago. “Don’t do this work full time,” he told me. Always maintain your general pediatrics (or whatever you enjoy), so you will maintain a balanced perspective. It was good advice. Now that I am involved in full-time academic administration, I need my weekends covering the Child Protection Team, reading the Journal, and attending the biennial Congresses to “balance” that life as well.

Henry was a remarkable man. It is amazing that it has been five years since we celebrated the 25th Anniversary at the third Congress in North America held in Denver in 2002. It is also a little daunting that next year I will have been at the Kempe Center 40 years, and our Child Protection Team will be 50! We feel lucky to continue to live Henry’s legacy here, as we celebrate another series of lucky sevens (7-7-07)!