Championing Child Advocacy: Introducing Sarah Perl, GBMC’s Medical Director of Child Maltreatment

In March 2024, GBMC was excited to welcome its first Medical Director of Child Maltreatment, Sarah Perl, MSN, CRNP-AC. Sarah’s role signals an important step forward in the organization’s efforts to protect children and support families. Drawing on her extensive background in neonatal and pediatric care, trauma care, and multidisciplinary program development, Sarah is poised to elevate GBMC’s child advocacy initiatives—making a powerful difference for vulnerable children across Baltimore County.

A Full-Circle Journey in Pediatric Care

Sarah’s passion for helping children developed early in her career. She earned her bachelor's degree in nursing from Johns Hopkins University and began working as a NICU nurse at the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS). When her husband’s residency took them to New York City, she became a pediatric nurse and soon pursued her Pediatric Primary Care Nurse Practitioner degree at NYU.

While in New York, Sarah gained valuable trauma care experience in pediatrics, which deepened her commitment to helping children and families navigate challenging medical and social situations. Returning to Maryland, she continued her mission at Kennedy Krieger Institute, contributing to a multidisciplinary approach for children with complex needs—such as feeding tubes and tracheostomies. By helping streamline care into a single visit, families were spared multiple trips and empowered to focus on their children’s well-being.

Soon after, Sarah was recruited to join Johns Hopkins’ Child Protection Team, where she further honed her expertise in child maltreatment. Recognizing that the children she served often required acute-level care, she pursued a second nurse practitioner certification in Acute Care Pediatrics. Following a period at Children’s National Hospital for additional trauma experience, Sarah arrived at GBMC in March 2024 with the goal of re-establishing its Child Advocacy Center (CAC) agreement and leading a renewed child maltreatment program.

Transforming Child Advocacy at GBMC

Today, Sarah oversees both physical abuse cases and non-acute suspected sexual abuse cases through GBMC’s CAC. When a child’s situation doesn’t meet the immediate criteria for the Sexual Assault Forensic Examination (SAFE) program, Sarah ensures they still receive trauma-informed evaluations in a less intimidating environment—one that feels more like a “living room” than an exam room.

For non-acute cases, every child is assigned an advocate; together, the team decides whether lab work, physical exams, discussions, or medications are needed. This approach allows time to prepare families—especially if a child has developmental or complex medical needs—while maintaining rigorous standards of care and protecting their well-being.

Nurses: The Heart of Vigilant Care

Central to this effort are nurses across the health system, whose keen observations often serve as a second set of eyes. “Nurses are incredibly astute at spotting the subtle warning signs that others might miss,” Sarah explains. By partnering with Nurse Practitioner Danielle Nickels and other key stakeholders, Sarah has implemented systematic protocols and screening processes in the Emergency Department (ED) and pediatric settings, ensuring that vulnerable children are not discharged without an extra layer of review.

A Vision for the Future

Looking ahead, Sarah hopes to expand the Child Maltreatment Program’s reach, aiming to introduce a facility dog to comfort children and to integrate more resources on-site—such as child protective services—to support families in a comprehensive way. She is also exploring prevention strategies, from preventing drownings to recognizing elopement risks for children with autism. Her team is working on standardized, evidence-based screening tools in Epic, potentially incorporating AI to help identify at-risk children before harm occurs.

Above all, Sarah emphasizes that nurses remain the linchpin in discovering and reporting concerns that might otherwise go unnoticed. By combining vigilant, compassionate nursing with Sarah’s expertise, GBMC continues to enhance child advocacy efforts that help ensure the safety, health, and future of children in our community.