CARES Northwest Celebrates 25th Years of Helping Abused Children

It's all about the kids!

Portland, November 16th. Hundreds of supporters came to toast the 25th Anniversary of CARES Northwest with a festive gala at Leftbank Annex. CARES Northwest is a medically-based child abuse assessment and intervention program which served 4792 children in 2011. (Photo credit, Andie Petkus) Each year, thousands of children in Oregon face physical and sexual abuse, neglect and/or domestic violence. Before CARES was founded, if children were physically or sexually abused they had to tell their painful story again and again and again. CARES brings together all agencies involved for one evaluation.

CARES Board Member Randi Reiten helped organize the event, Patrick Reiten is president and CEO of major sponsor Pacific Power at PacifiCorp. Kevin Dowling is the CARES Northwest Program Manager.

George J. Brown, MD, Chief Executive Officer of Legacy, Dr. Molly Burchell, David Fuller, Carla Harris and Barbara Young

The night included a tribute to Michael D. Schrunk, Multnomah County District Attorney since 1981 and was instrumental in the development of CARES Northwest. Michael D. Schrunk was honored by Rod Underhill who will replace him as District Attorney when Schrunk retires at the end of the year.

For the past 25 years, CARES Northwest has served as a community-based medical program for the assessment, treatment and prevention of child abuse. The program combines the collaborative forces of four of the region’s leading health systems—Kaiser Permanente, OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, Providence Health & Services and Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel.

“Since opening our doors in 1987, we have served nearly 30,000 children in our medical clinic, and have triaged almost twice that many referrals,” said Kevin Dowling, CARES Northwest program manager. “Most of the children we see are 12 years and younger, with sexual abuse and physical abuse being the most common reasons for referral.

“The need is great and our program is committed to serving all children, regardless of their family’s ability to pay. CARES Northwest relies on generous contributions from the community to ensure our most vulnerable patients receive care.”

The evening included the announcement of a the raffle of a one of a kind retro designer Nike, more details to follow…

Sarah Schrott, David Rubin, Marlys Pierson and Don Girard

Ron van Dongen, Charlotte Reisen, Dave Schrott and Alysa Rose

Chloe Houser from PDX TV was the enthusiastic emcee.

Stephanie and Kevin Lynch are longtime supporters of CARES and were the top bidders for a beautiful handmade quilt.

Scott Taylor, Patrick Reiten, Annie Duden and Phil Iosca

Vibrant Table created the great dinner and the night ended with dancing to soul music.

Portland Society Page was proud to be the media sponsor of the CARES Northwest 25th Anniversary

Presenting Sponsor: Pacific Power

Anniversary Sponsors: Epic Systems Corp.

Philip Iosca and Anne Duden

OHSU – Doernbecher Children’s Hospital

Providence St. Vincent Medical Center

Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel

Smarsh

Silver Sponsors: CBRE Inc./Jan Bottcher

Iberdrola Renewables, Inc.

Dan Leonhardt, M.D. and Kathy Kroeger

Kaiser Permanente Northwest

Leila Keltner and Kevin Dowling

Debby Kernan and Paul Angello

Knowledge Universe

Allison Rhodes

David Rubin

Daniel Staton

Wells Fargo

Photography Sponsor: OnPoint Community Credit Union ($1,000)

In-Kind Media Sponsor: Portland Society Page

Elisa Klein

I’ve been a professional journalist and writer since 1987, (and long-time reporter for KOIN-TV.) As a nationally published reporter, with a Master’s Degree in Journalism, I love to report positive news and information. Journalism has also connected me with another non-profit where I served as a leader; the Northwest’s biggest writer’s organization: The Willamette Writers.