Kathryn Wells, MD
Medical Director
Denver Family Crisis Center
2929 W. 10th Avenue
Denver, CO 80204-3363
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Colorado
Instrumental in developing the Colorado Systems Integration Model for
Infants, Dr. Kathryn Wells was selected as one of three national recipients
of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act demonstration
grant designated to address substance-exposed infants. Subsequently,
she was chosen from among a large group of nominees from across the
United States to receive the 2007 National Collaborative Leadership
Award. Dr. Wells has been unwavering in her determination to improve
the child welfare system, her willingness to devote nights and weekends
to working on the Colorado Systems Integration Model for Infants
project, and her commitment to reaching out and teaching the model
to a broad range of concerned professionals and citizens in the Rocky
Mountain Region. Further, she is involved actively in spearheading a
national effort to compile data to track methamphetamine-affected
children for potential long-term effects.
For five years, Dr. Wells practiced general pediatrics at the Family
Medical Clinic in Caldwell, Idaho. Developing a strong interest and
passion in the area of child abuse and neglect, she founded the Idaho
Society for the Protection of At-Risk Children, a nonprofit organization
with the mission of reducing the number of infants born exposed to
drugs or alcohol and promoting the education, prevention, and treatment
of families affected by substance abuse to resolve safety and
permanency issues. In her current position as Medical Director of the
Denver Family Crisis Center, Dr. Wells serves as the child abuse and
neglect consultant for the Denver Health and Hospital Authority, the
Denver Department of Human Services, the Denver Police Department,
and the Denver District Attorney‘s Office. Additionally, she is
an attending physician with the Kempe Child Protection Team at the
Children‘s Hospital in Denver. An Assistant Professor in Pediatrics at the
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, she teaches extensively
in the area of drug endangered children, maternal substance abuse,
and child maltreatment.
Working closely with Lt. Moriarty and the North Metro Task Force to
address the difficult issue of child protection as it relates to clandestine
methamphetamine laboratories, Dr. Wells helped to form the Colorado
Alliance for Drug Endangered Children, where she currently serves as
an advisor to the Executive Committee. She also contributes as a member
of the Medical and Research Subcommittee of the National Alliance
for Drug Endangered Children.
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