Hospital Opens Child-Abuse Center in Lynwood

open house will be held from 4 to 5 p.m. today at St. Francis Medical Center for the hospital’s new Children’s Center for the treatment and prevention of child abuse.

The center offers family therapy, children’s group therapy and individual counseling.

The center, which officially opened July 1, has been in the planning stages for several years. It is funded by Los Angeles County and private donations.

Current grants total more than $185,000. The center has received a total of $100,000 from Los Angeles County, $35,000 from the city of Lynwood and $50,000 raised by the center through charity.

Debbie Corona has been named the abuse center’s first director. The center also has a full-time social worker and secretary. Social workers from the hospital staff and doctors also provide assistance.

Inspiration to create the center came from the hospital’s Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect Team, made up of doctors, social workers and hospital personnel who monitored and reviewed child abuse cases at the medical center for many years, said Anne Bruner, group coordinator.

The group monitors 10 to 12 cases each week and makes sure the cases are reported to proper authorities, Bruner said.

The number of cases convinced doctors that there was a need to have a treatment center, Bruner said.