Katie Brown Educational Program Co-Founder Awarded the 2018 Community Clinician of the Year Award

Swansea, MA- On Tuesday, April 3, 2018 the Bristol South District Medical Society awarded Katie Brown Educational Program Co-Founder Dr. Jay Schachne with the 2018 Community Clinician of the Year Award at a ceremony held at Venus de Milo Restaurant in Swansea, MA.

This award is given to physicians who make exceptional contributions to their practice and their community.

Dr. Schachne is the former chief of cardiology at Southcoast Physicians Group and founder of Truesdale Cardiology. He is also an Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at Alpert Medical School and Brown University. A cardiologist for 35 years, Dr. Schachne stated that it was an honor to receive this prestigious award and referenced the strides that he and the team at the Katie Brown Educational Program are taking to aid in preventing relationship violence. “We spend all day trying to prevent disease,” stated Dr. Schachne, “domestic violence is a preventable social epidemic.”

Founded in 2001 in response to the murder of 20-year-old Katherine “Katie” Brown by the man she had dated on and off since high school, KBEP teaches students grades four through high school, and adults throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island the necessary skills to promote healthy relationships and prevent relationship violence from occurring.

KBEP’s evidence based program has reached well over 88,000 individuals since its beginning and reaches over 6,000 individuals annually. “What we found was that students who participate in the Katie Brown Educational Program are less violent,” Schachne said during his acceptance speech. He also noted that their work has expanded beyond the classroom to include seminars, workshops, and resources. The Educators and staff at the Katie Brown Educational Program also frequently speak at conferences where the program serves as a model for other relationship violence prevention groups and program across the nation.

For more information about the work being done at the Katie Brown Educational Program, please contact Crystal Stone, Manager of Communications and Public Relations at cstone@kbep.org or visit www.kbep.org