Dr. Bernard 'Brian' Cullen, 1918-2010: Doctor aided abused children

Dr. Bernard "Brian" Cullen, a pediatrician who founded the Family and Child Abuse Prevention Center in 1973, died Aug. 19 at University of Toledo Medical Center, formerly Medical College of Ohio, after a long illness.

He was 91. His family declined to specify the cause of death.

Dr. Cullen's wife, Genny, said he became dedicated to helping abused children after diagnosing his first case of maternal child abuse in 1960.

"That was an incident in which a baby had been abused by one of his favorite patients," Mrs. Cullen said. "It took him a while to figure out exactly what had happened and he was quite overcome by that. He began expressing his concern."

Dr. Cullen worked with children suffering from conditions such as battered child syndrome, neglect, and sexual abuse.

"He was generally ahead of his time - a pioneer in this area here - and actually there was not the awareness then in the county as there is now. … It became more and more of a problem to which he dedicated himself."

Dr. Cullen founded the Family and Child Abuse Prevention Center while maintaining a private pediatric practice in Toledo.

"It developed from those professionals and social workers who were becoming really interested in the problem and wanted to do something with parents," Mrs. Cullen said.

Dr. Cullen became honorary chairman of the center before joining the faculty of what was then known as Medical College of Ohio four years later. There, he was named director of the Regional Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Program.

He was chairman of the Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect for more than 30 years, served on the Governor's Task Force on Family Violence, and was a consultant to the Lucas County Children Services Board for many years.

In 2002, a treatment facility for traumatized children, adolescents, and families was established in partnership with Toledo Children's Hospital and the Children's Advocacy Center was named in his honor as the Cullen Center.

Dr. Cullen was a native of Ireland and the second of 10 children. He received his early education at St. Patrick's College in Armagh, Ireland, and his medical degree in 1942 from Queen's University in Belfast. After practicing medicine for several years in England, he embarked on two "round-the-world tours" as a ship's surgeon with the British Merchant Navy, his son Rory Cullen said.

Dr. Cullen met his wife aboard one of those passenger-cargo ships. Mrs. Cullen, then Genevieve Sell, a native Toledoan, was sailing home after having lived in Tokyo as an employee of the War Department after World War II.

They were married in Toledo two years later and soon after lived in Newfoundland, where Dr. Cullen was a company physician for a paper and pulp company, his son said.

Dr. Cullen did pediatric residencies at the Hospital for Sick Children in Great Ormond Street, London, and the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal and furthered his pediatric training at St. Francis Hospital in Evans-

ton, Ill.

He served two years in the Army as chief of pediatrics at the army hospital in Fort Polk, La., and after his discharge, he opened a private practice in Toledo. He kept the practice for 24 years before joining the faculty of the Medical College of Ohio.

Surviving are his wife, Genny, daughters, Moira Cullen and Ciara Cullen, sons, Rory and Sean, brothers, Pat and Frank, sisters, Rosemary Cullen and Sr. Una Cullen, and two grandchildren.

A memorial service is being planned. Dr. Cullen donated his body to the University of Toledo Medical Center.

The family suggests tributes to the Cullen Center, 2150 West Central Ave., or the Family and Child Abuse Prevention Center, 2460 Cherry St.