Parents who say doctors at Lehigh Valley Health Network falsely accused them of medically abusing their children protest in Allentown in September. Esernio-Jenssen, the physician at the heart of the controversy, will retire March 31, 2024.physician who has been accused by parents of misdiagnosing them with ‘”medical child abuse” will retire at the end of the month, the health system said.medical information — or even harm a child — to make a child seem sick.
Kim Steltz, an Leigh County mother, temporarily lost custody of her two children after Esernio-Jenssen falsely diagnosed her and her husband with the rare condition. The case unfolded over more than a year and the couple eventually regained custody of their kids. Steltz founded Parents’ Medical Rights Group, an advocacy nonprofit that has been pressuring authorities to investigate Esernio-Jenssen.diagnoses at the Lehigh Valley. Northeast Pennsylvania accounted for 40% of the Munchausen syndrome by proxy diagnoses in Pennsylvania between 2017 and 2021, despite having only 11% of state’s children.Esernio-Jenssen is facing multiple civil lawsuits brought by parents she diagnosed with “medical child abuse.