Bridging the Gap: One Health System’s Solution to a National Health Crisis
“No death shall be in vain.” These words serve as a mantra for the trauma team that took on gun violence — and won.
// By Susan Dubuque //
The day a teenage boy arrived at the trauma center with a severe gunshot wound, and the team defied the odds and saved his life, it filled them with an incredible sense of joy, relief, and pride.
A few months later, when that same teen was admitted to the trauma center with yet another gunshot injury and the team saved his life, it filled them with frustration.
The third time this young man was brought into the trauma center with a gunshot wound, the team was unable to save him. This might have filled them with anger and despair. But it didn’t.
Instead, they felt emboldened by a sense of determination to stop the senseless deaths of our young people due to firearm violence. To do more than wring their hands and say, “Here comes another one.” To take assertive action. To create change through intervention.
This was the genesis of the VCU Health Bridging the Gap: Community Violence Intervention Program.
Initially led by trauma surgeon Dr. Michel Aboutanos; emergency physician Dr. Robin Foster; and psychiatrist Dr. Robert Cohen, the team can be described as nothing less than warriors.
Michel Aboutanos, MD, MPH, FACS, NOTW, trauma surgeon at VCU Health
“Our streets are a war zone. Firearm injuries are the #1 cause of death of young people, and in Virginia alone, they account for over 1,000 deaths a year,” says Aboutanos. “Something had to change.”
And it did.
In 2003, this multidisciplinary team set out to develop an effective strategy to interrupt the cycle of violence. The idea was to reframe the mission and purpose of the health system, and create a holistic approach to caring for patients at high risk for re-injury due to firearms, stabbing, and assaults.
Read on to see the battle plan this team devised to stop the revolving door of violent injuries. Today, this program transforms gun violence prevention across Virginia and beyond.