CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) — In an effort to help reduce the rate of re-injury amongst victims of community violence, UVA Health launched a hospital-based violence intervention program last month, supported by a grant from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services and the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association Foundation.

The program allows UVA Health to provide additional services and resources to patients suffering injuries from a community violence incident, which can include gunshot wounds, stabbings or physical assaults.

As part of the program, UVA Health has been able to hire two violence intervention specialists to meet with patients and offer emotional support, as well as talk through how to keep the patient safe and prevent re-injury.

These specialists are able to work with patients up to a year after discharge. Program team lead Brittany Nash highlighted this during a media briefing discussing the program on Friday, saying these follow-ups are needed as 47% of trauma patients are high risk for loss of follow-up after discharge, and 45% of violently injured patients experience re-injury within five years.

“What we want to do is we want to make sure that patients are actually attending their medical follow-up appointments,” she said. “And also, are being connected to the resources to help them be successful when they do discharge from the hospital. And so, we know that sometimes patients are fine, a month or two after they discharge. However, it can be 6 months down the line, something pops up.”

Violence Intervention Specialist Bria Nielsen said the main goal of the program is prevent re-injury as well as retaliation, all while connecting patients with resources for after their discharge.

Nielsen was hired alongside fellow Violence Intervention Specialist Martavius Terrell, and each have begun working patients, starting at their bedside and working with them throughout the following year.

So far, five patients have been officially enrolled in the program since its launch on April 21, but the two specialists have met with 40 patients in total. The hope is to get more patients enrolled as the summer continues.

“Let’s say they’re not necessarily enrolled, we still will follow up, and just kind of check on them and see how they are,” Nielsen said. “We do get patients, obviously, that we might, like, if someone comes in on a Saturday morning and is discharged from the emergency room, we’ll follow up with them still, just to see if they do need anything. So typically for within that year, we’ll still follow up and just kind of check in with the patients that are here or that have been here.”

The program is able to provide patients support with the help of partnering organizations like Region Ten, ReadyKids and the Commonwealth Justice Coalition, as well as partners within the hospital system like the social work team.

“Part of what I did at the beginning stages of when we got this grant is I really wanted to go out and to meet community partners to, number one, understand what they’re doing, and how we can collaborate and work together,” Nash said.

She added the program has received “great feedback” so far, with patients engaging with the program and expressing gratitude for its existence. The program has also received great feedback from community partners, further bolstering hopes for its future.

Nash said the hope is for the program to be successful enough to expand in the future, adding they hope to add some National Domestic Violence Advocates to the health system as well.

“We know that is another huge issue as well within the community,” she said.