For Immediate Release
April 19, 2006

Contact: Howard Sutter
 (714) 834-2178

Medical Director Selected For Orange County’s Child Abuse Services Team (CAST)

(Santa Ana) –  Frederic W. Bruhn, M.D., has been selected to serve as Medical Director of the Orange County Child Abuse Services Team (CAST), bringing additional expertise to the program.

“What really attracted me to this opportunity is the multi-disciplinary cooperation among the agencies under one roof at CAST,” said Dr. Bruhn. “We are able to communicate and discuss issues on a daily basis, and you honestly don’t find that in many places. This is one of the unique strengths of the CAST program.”

Dr. Bruhn, a board certified pediatrician and Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, previously served as Medical Director of the SCAN Team at Children’s Hospital Central California, Madera. He has also served as an Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at several medical schools, most recently at the University of California at San Francisco program in Fresno. Dr. Bruhn is a graduate of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and completed his pediatric residency by serving as Chief Resident at San Francisco General Hospital in 1969-70. He also completed a fellowship in pediatric infectious diseases at the University of Colorado. His professional memberships include Fellowship in the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC) and the Physician’s Network on Child Abuse and Neglect. Dr. Bruhn attained the rank of Colonel in the United States Army, retiring after 20 years of service.

CAST is a multi-disciplinary program that serves as a center of excellence in the diagnosis of child abuse for Orange County, with the goal of strengthening child abuse prevention and identification efforts countywide. Partners in CAST include the Social Services Agency, the Health Care Agency and the District Attorney. CAST staff members provide child welfare services, medical examinations, child advocacy and victim services, and crisis intervention assistance. The Health Care Agency is responsible for the medical and mental health components of the CAST program, with funding for the medical director’s position provided by the Children and Families Commission of Orange County, the Social Services Agency and Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian. Medical Director services will be provided under an agreement between the Health Care Agency and the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine, where Dr. Bruhn will serve as a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics.

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