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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Theodore Corbin, MD, Department of Emergency Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, 1020 Sansom Street, Sutie 239 Thompson, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215 955 0494, theodore.corbin@jefferson.edu

Violent injury and homicide are on the rise in Philadelphia, PA. In 2005, 380 individuals were violently killed and more than 9400 were victims of non-fatal assault of whom more than 3800 were under the age of 24. Most of these victims are seen in Emergency Departments and released. Despite good evidence that they suffer prolonged physical and psychological after-effects from trauma, there are few policies or practices in place in hospitals, emergency departments or community organizations to support a trauma-informed approach to urban youth violence.

A collaborative project between an emergency medicine physician and an advocacy organization, in cooperation with a citywide initiative, Blueprint for a Safer Philadelphia, seeks to change this approach by:

• Improving data collection that will allow research into the root and proximate causes of violence, which will inform interventions and preventions that work.

• Implementing training standards in trauma-informed care for youth violence for health care providers, and educational curriculum for health professions students to improve their care of injured youth.

• Improving the referral rate to needed social services and accessing of care.

• Recognizing violence intervention as a quality issue.

• Establishing an office of victim services within the local health department.

• Mobilizing other community partners to address trauma and violence.

In this session, I will describe the growing momentum of these efforts, including the Blueprint for a Safer Philadelphia aimed at decreasing violence in Philadelphia.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe current advocacy efforts in Philadelphia aimed at decreasing youth violence.
• Recognize the potential role of emgergency departments in constructing a trauma informed system of care.
• Define the concept of trauma informed system of care.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation