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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Kristen Donaldson, MPH, Elena Quintana, PhD, and Gary Slutkin, MD. The Chicago Project for Violence Prevention, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1603 W. Taylor St., Chicago, IL 60612, 3122869378, kdonal2@uic.edu

High risk youth are the hardest to reach with primary violence prevention; thus, creative partnerships are critical to identify highest risk individuals and work with them to better their lives and to create safer communities. This presentation provides information on the development and implementation of a partnership between CeaseFire's Outreach Workers and a trauma center to reduce violent injury. The medical center serves about 500 gun shot victims a year in the Chicagoland area. The partnership created a new protocol to address these injuries. When a person is shot, hospital personnel notify the outreach team who responds both at the hospital and in the community to prevent retaliation. Outreach staff continues to follow up with the patient to keep them out of harms way. In 2005, CeaseFire responded to 80 cases of violence related injuries at the trauma center to provide outreach services at the individual, family and community level. Based on case reports and community follow-up, no cases have returned to the trauma center with injuries and it has been estimated that 34 retaliations were prevented by the program, saving both lives and medical costs (estimated to be over $1.1 million dollars). This partnership has created a new trauma protocol that includes patient education, outreach services, and addresses violence in the surrounding communities. It has strengthened the timeliness of outreach services, saved lives and prevented further violence based on the idea that providing the right support to the highest risk youth can make a difference in the community.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize important opportunity to connect community outreach workers with trauma unit staff to prevent violence.
• Articulate the cost savings related to preventing violent injuries.
• Analyze opportunities to educate and intervene in the lives of those most at risk for sustainging or causing a firearm injury.

Keywords: Violence Prevention, Hospitals

Related Web page: ceasefirechicago.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered