Campaign by Story
Founded in 1987, CARES (Child Abuse and Response Evaluation Services) Northwest is a collaborative effort among Randall Children's Hospital at Legacy Emanuel, Kaiser Permanente, OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital and Providence Children's Health. Medical providers, mental health professionals, child protective caseworks and detectives work under one roof to coordinate their response, minimizing trauma to both the child and their family so healing can begin right away.
Join the fight against child abuse
Bronwyn Houston tells the story of a 7-year-old girl referred to CARES Northwest for an urgent medical exam and interview due to concerns of child physical abuse. The girl's school had been concerned about her appearance, and her statements about things her mother was doing to her.
The child was brought to CARES Northwest by a Department of Human Services case worker. The medical exam showed multiple patterned bruises, thin and sparse hair in places, a healing fracture of her forearm, and extremely short stature for her age. DHS placed the child in foster care, and over time, the trauma-focused, cognitive behavior therapy team at CARES Northwest discovered that the girl was being locked in a room and not allowed to eat.
The girl was removed from the home and after six months in foster care, the girl grew four inches. Bronwyn, who currently serves as the interim president at Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center and president at Randall Children's Hospital at Legacy Emanuel, said what people find most surprising about this story is the parents. The girl's mother was a doctor and her father a geologist.
On my first department tour of CARES Northwest in 2001, the medical director at the time, who I came to admire very much said to me 'Bronwyn, child abuse happens in your neighborhood, and it happens in mine.'
For more than a decade, Randall Children's Hospital has been a regional leader in providing care to infants, children and teens in the Pacific Northwest. Randall is also one of Oregon's largest providers of pediatric inpatient and trauma services.