As part of a multi-edition effort (here, here and here) to highlight compelling, fair, and informative local television news reporting, here’s an excellent segment from NBC12, Richmond, Virginia’s local NBC affiliate on Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center’s lauded hospital-based violence intervention program now being expanded to other Virginia hospitals to help curb gun violence across the state. Dr. Michel Aboutanos, a level 1 trauma surgeon who helped establish the violence intervention program at VCU in Richmond, explained to the news station how it works:
“[A]nytime a young patient comes in with either a shot or stab wound [doctors] ask the patient if they would like to participate in the program. If a patient says yes, providers will give resources to patients to break the cycle of violence, whether it is finding housing, getting enrolled in a technical program, or finding a job…. So far, close to 2,000 patients have enrolled in the program, and research shows those enrolled are significantly less likely to return to the hospital due to gun violence. ‘Across the country, the recidivism for gunshot wounds is almost up to 50%, if not a little bit higher… in our program, our five-year recidivism rate is about 3.6%…’”
