Ben Taub to get enhanced survivor aid
Program seeks to help victims ‘break the cycle of violence,’ get back on their feet
Ben Taub Hospital will soon house a new county-led violence prevention initiative, the second such program in Harris County aimed at helping survivors get back on their feet.
Harris County commissioners unanimously approved an agreement last month between the county and Harris Health System to launch the hospital violence interruption program at one of the busiest trauma centers in Southeast Texas, according to officials. The model has been implemented with success locally and nationally.
Patients wounded in shootings, stabbings or other aggravated assaults in neighborhoods with the highest rates of gun violence, including South Side Houston and Cypress Station in north Harris County, will be asked to participate, said Lupe Washington, director for community health and violence prevention services at Harris County Public Health.
The program comes on the heels of the county’s first hospital violence interruption program, which launched in November at HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest, a busy Level II trauma center. In its first three months, that program has served roughly three dozen people, Washington said, including residents who were assaulted by family members, wounded in drive-by shootings, and even beaten by a golf club.
The vast majority of those patients — 90 percent — were males, according to the public health department. Roughly 80 percent were Black and 15 percent were Hispanic, and nearly half of the program participants were under age 30.
Patients served by the programs must reside or get injured in four pilot ZIP codes: 77021, 77033, 77051 and 77090.
The newest program is expected to launch within a few months, Washington said, after the hospital hires a dedicated social worker. Ben Taub is among two Level I trauma centers in the county.
“Unfortunately, victims of crime and violence are all too prevalent in our communities. Many of these victims arrive at Ben Taub Hospital in need of emergency and trauma medical care, sometimes requiring lifesaving efforts,” said Amy Smith, senior vice president for transitions and post-acute care at Harris Health System. For qualifying patients, the program “will assist them in helping to break the cycle of violence or defuse immediate tensions with the hope of building long-term peace and creating a safer community for everyone.”
When a patient meeting the qualifying criteria shows up at either participating hospital, a social worker will call the public health department, which will then dispatch an outreach specialist to meet with the patient and their family or other visitors.
This immediate response can help stem retaliatory violence, Washington said.
“Tempers may be running high,” she said. “If our outreach specialist can get there as quickly as possible, then we’re able to deescalate situations.”
The public health employee will visit the patient at the hospital each day and follow up every few days after release. Washington said the goal is to help the patient have a successful recovery and get on a path to long-term self-sufficiency by connecting them to resources related to housing, employment, transportation, food and other needs. The department has found that people have been hungry for the help.
“What we’re really seeing is that residents are needing help getting just the basics,” Washington said. “They’re needing help getting IDs and birth certificates. They’re needing help with food.”
Patients who need long-term help will be referred to another Harris County Public Health program that provides holistic, multidisciplinary coordinated care to vulnerable residents.
The public health department has hired outreach specialists, sometimes known as credible messengers, from inside the neighborhoods served by the program. Washington said they are trusted community members who have lived, worked and maintained strong connections in the neighborhood.
The outreach workers also get extensive training for the potentially dangerous job from a Chicago-based violence prevention expert. They are then equipped with skills related to mediation, conflict resolution, engagement and trust-building among highrisk groups.
The department is in the process of filling more outreach specialist positions to meet the demand expected from the new Ben Taub program, Washington said.
Already the team has prevented two retaliatory incidents by leaning on their deep connections in the community and forging enough trust with patients to have honest conversations, said Dr. Shiree Berry, a trauma surgeon who leads the program at HCA Houston Healthcare Northwest.
“That’s huge — because that was just going to lead to another traumatic event,” she said.
Berry, who serves as medical director of trauma, said she and a former colleague reached out to the public health department to get involved in the pilot program. They had noticed an increase in patients who repeatedly returned to the hospital — sometimes up to four times — with new violent injuries.
Research shows that people injured in a violent event are more likely to have a similar experience again, Berry said, and quick intervention at the hospital bedside is key to reducing those odds. Outreach specialists typically show up within an hour after getting a call, she said.
“If someone needs to change their behavior or environment, the best time to get them to make that change is as close to the traumatic event as possible,” she said.
More than 90 percent of the eligible patients have opted to participate in the program, according to the HCA hospital.
Although Berry treats patients for their medical needs, she knows a violent injury has far-reaching consequences beyond the physical trauma.
Survivors with serious injuries may be forced to navigate life with a new disability and lean on relatives for support. Others may lose work or financial stability and cope with depression, anxiety or other mental health conditions.
The impacts typically extend to a victim’s close family members and friends too, Berry said, especially children connected to the situation and parents, spouses or other relatives who may have to take on a new care-giving role.
As it worked to stand up this program, the county consulted with The Health Alliance for Violence Intervention, an organization that builds and connects violence intervention programs across the country. The first such programs were created in the 90s. There are now roughly 40 member programs across the country in California, New York and Illinois, among other places, according to the organization.
Some research indicates that these programs may contribute to a reduction in both re-injury rates and future involvement in the criminal justice system among participants, according to the organization.
Addressing violence through a public health perspective means addressing the root causes and social factors that play a role in cyclical violence, Washington said.
“If we’re helping people with their housing situation, if we’re helping them with their employment, if we’re helping them with their education, then we know they are less likely to go out and try to get things they need in a violent way,” she said.
People living in low income, high-crime neighborhoods are more likely to get caught up in that environment, Washington said, so it’s important to “help people find a different way or find a different answer.”
Berry said addressing the surge in gun violence requires collaboration between many stakeholders. “At this point, it’s a public health issue, it’s an epidemic, and in order for us to fix it and for things to get better, we have to treat it like we treat any other disease,” she said. “It’s all preventable.”