Ruth Hall is dedicated to helping and protecting abused children – so much so that she returned from retirement to continue a program with the VCU Health System.

To recognize her 33 years of service, particularly her “guardian angel” role in the Pediatric Emergency Room, the Pediatric Child Abuse Clinic was named for the Mechanicsville resident.

The designation, she said, “was a great surprise.” The plaque reads Ruth S. Hall, because the influence her parents, the late Willard and Midge Smith of Shady Grove Road, had on her devotion to her profession.

Hall said she has always worked hard because that’s what her parents instilled in her. “I’m sure they would be very proud to know this has happened,” she said of the honor.

And, despite the fact that she retired on July 1, she was compelled to return to the hospital “because I didn’t want to see the child abuse program fall apart – and there was nobody doing my job, so I went back to pick it up and keep going.” She has been back on the job part-time since September.

“I cared about helping people and getting the job done,” she said of her motivation. She also said she is “there to help put everything back together.” She deals with law enforcement, medical personnel, social workers and the family “so that something can be done about this abuse.”

Returning to the clinic was encour-aged and welcomed by Hall’s supervisor, Dr. Robin Fos-ter, director of the Pediatric Emer-gency Department. With a laugh, Hall said she had “spoiled her to death.”

While her hours may be a little less than the schedule she worked before her brief retirement, Hall remains committed to the task at hand.

“When you see a child that’s hurt, burned or shaken to death . . .,” Hall’s thought trailed when her attention turned to an incident she was exposed to that day. “I had to look at pictures today of an 8-week-old girl – fat, big ol’ cheeks – they look her off life support and nobody’s been arrested for it.” It was a shaken baby case.

“I think these parents just take these babies . . . they get so frustrated. They just don’t know which way to turn them.”

Still talking about the 8-week-old girl, who had a twin brother, Hall said the infant had been shaken, laid on a bed and “essentially stopped breathing.” At that point, a call was made to the police.

“It’s cases like that; it makes me much more aware that something has to be done.”

“I don’t want that child in danger anymore,” a determined Hall said. “They don’t realize the damage they’re doing to that child by grabbing an arm, smacking a face,” as well as the emotional issue.

“We see over 800 patients a year in the clinic,” Hall said. Her work also includes 200 or more consults around Virginia. “This staff happens everywhere, some of the most horrible cases.” 

“We get these kids that have been abused,” she said. Hall pointed out that teachers are mandated to report child abuse allegations. So often, she added, victims say they have told their teachers.

Hall and her husband Marshall, who have been married for 40 years, have two sons, Jason and Dallas. They also have five grandchildren: Trevor, Tyler, Trent, Kelsey and Katelyn.

As for her husband, she said he is “the love of my life, my bestest friend.”

She acknowledges the blessings and positives in her life, but is adamant in her conviction: “I don’t want that child in danger anymore.”