TUH-Main Campus’ hospital-based violence intervention program (HVIP) is a proven success, in large part due to the support of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. That’s why Lt. Governor Austin Davis, the Commission’s Chair, chose our campus as the location to announce that the Commission has earned a $4 million competitive grant from the US Department of Justice to expand these programs in underserved communities.
Research has shown that hospital-based violence intervention programs can help prevent cycles of gun violence by reducing the likelihood of reinjury and retaliation. Our program provides trauma-informed care and support to individuals who have experienced violent injury, and works with community-based partners to offer immediate and longer-term services and support. With the addition of full-time trauma victim support advocates, case managers, therapists, and a workforce development specialist, plus team members at the bedside to offer assistance the moment a patient enters the hospital, we’re now better able to serve the needs of violently-injured patients.
Much of this was possible because, in 2019, we received a Victim of Crime Act Grant—and later, a Violence Intervention and Prevention Grant—from the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. Since then, our efforts have proven so successful that the Commission plans to use the Department of Justice grant to bring hospital-based violence intervention programs like ours to communities across the Commonwealth.
Lt. Governor Davis announced the grant at the December 13th press conference, which was attended by Temple University President John Fry; Michael A. Young, MHA, FACHE, President and CEO of Temple Health; Abhi Rastogi, MBA, MIS, President and CEO of Temple University Hospital; Pennsylvania State Senator Christine Tartaglione; Amy J. Goldberg, MD, FACS, The Marjorie Joy Katz Dean of the Lewis Katz School of Medicine; US Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon; Pennsylvania House of Representatives Speaker Joanna McClinton; Pennsylvania State Representative Danilo Burgos; Philadelphia City Councilmember Jeffrey Young, Jr.; Philadelphia City Councilmember Cindy Bass; Philadelphia’s Chief Public Safety Director Adam Geera; Toni Rivera Managing Director of The Health Alliance for Violence Intervention (HAVI); Trauma Outreach Manager Scott Charles; and Melany Nelson, Executive Director of Northwest Victim Services.
Gun violence is “a problem we can do something about,” Davis told the crowd during his remarks. “The city of Philadelphia has been making great strides to combat the epidemic of gun violence by treating it like a public health crisis and working with local hospitals and healthcare providers to support victims and stop the cycle of violence.
“The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, which I have the privilege to lead, has supported the hospital-based violence intervention program here at Temple University Hospital with nearly $3 million in funding,” he continued. “We are also providing financial support for Philadelphia’s recently-launched HVIP Coalition. Now, with this new federal grant, we can enhance and expand this strategy to even more communities across Pennsylvania.”