Bay Area Hospital Announces Pinwheel

March 28, 2014

Bay Area Hospital Announces Pinwheel

(Coos Bay, Ore.) — The Bay Area Hospital, Kids’ Hope Center team together with the District Attorney’s Office and local law enforcement agencies will be planting 197 pinwheels in front of the Center on Friday, March 28 at 2:00 p.m. The Center is located on the corner of 19th Street and Thompson Avenue – one block from Bay Area Hospital. Each pinwheel honors and represents each child seen at the Center in 2013.

Child Abuse statistics for our County and the State of Oregon are astounding and many of these cases are never reported. In 2011 in Oregon, according to the Department of Human Services, there were 74,342 child abuse reports, and 11,599 unduplicated child abuse victims. The number of reports and victims in the last 10 years has increased by 85%. Family members account for 94.6 percent of all alleged abusers.

One of the valuable services available in our community for children who have been abused has been the Kids’ Hope Center formerly the Child Abuse Intervention Center. At the Center, children who may have been abused are interviewed in a “kid friendly” environment to determine if they have been the victim of abuse and to help obtain for them the services they need to overcome the abuse and associated trauma. Last year in our county, 213 children were interviewed and received services through the Center. We know that most abuse goes unreported.

Bay Area Hospital – Kids’ Hope Center together with numerous other community organizations will also be sponsoring the Family Fun Day and Run for the Kids on Saturday, April 5th at John Topits Park. This is a FREE family friendly and tobacco free event with activities, a run and a free bbq kicking off National Child Abuse & Prevention month during April.

Bay Area Hospital is excited to have this important community service become a part of the full range of services provided to our South Coast residents. It aligns with the hospital mission “to improve the health of our community every day”. It is the desire of Bay Area Hospital to increase not only the emergency response services as a result of child abuse but an increased focus on prevention and education.