Community Violence Intervention Hub
The Community Violence Intervention Hub (CVI Hub) is a leading group of Penn clinicians, researchers, administrators, practitioners, and activists who have come together to bring all the violence prevention activities under one roof, within a coordinated & connected team.
Programs
Penn Community Violence Prevention
A team of dedicated outreach workers and violence interrupters work to stop violence from happening in the first place. From conflict mediation to connecting individuals to pro-social alternatives, the program provides a suite of services to reduce the impact of violence on individuals and communities.
Penn Trauma Violence Recovery Program
The Penn Trauma Violence Recovery Program is based in the Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, a level 1 trauma center. After being medically stabilized following a violent injury, the violence intervention specialist meets the patient at the bedside to support them in connecting to resources and services for their healing and well-being, and this relationship is maintained after discharge for continued support.
Safe Path Program
In partnership with the School District of Philadelphia, we are working to expand and enhance the Safe Path program, a network of community members and local businesses and organizations to “keep an eye” so children can make it safely to and from school.
PCVP Community Advisory Board
The PCVP Community Advisory Board is composed of community residents, business owners, school officials, non-profit organizations, and other community leaders who are dedicated to reducing community violence in West and Southwest Philadelphia.
Firearm Injury Research Interest Group
We bring together scientists, clinicians, practitioners, and policymakers across Philadelphia in monthly virtual meetings to share resources, updates, and opportunities to cross-pollinate research, practice, and policy efforts to reduce the burden of firearm injury on our communities and health systems.
News from the Community Violence Intervention Hub
Expanding violence prevention and recovery programs
| Bernadette Hohl and Elinore Kaufman led applications that were selected for funding by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency (PCCD). With the funding, Hohl will partner with The School District of Philadelphia to expand and enhance the Safe Path program, and Kaufman will bring three additional Violence Intervention Specialists to the hospital-based Penn Trauma Violence Recovery Program. Read more from the Penn Medicine News. |
Gun Violence: A Reckoning
Among other Penn Medicine experts on the front lines of the fight against gun violence, Dr. Elinore Kaufman was featured in this special issue of Penn Medicine Magazine. She calls for a broad-based approach to violence prevention, involving public health interventions as well as structural change. Read more.
One Bullet Can Kill, But It Takes More Than 100 People To Save A Gunshot Victim’s Life
Twelve workers at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, including Dr. Elinore Kaufman and Sunny Jackson, were interviewed for this BuzzFeed News story on the experiences of health care providers in treating patients who have been shot. The article revealed not only the intensity of responding to violently injured patients, but also the secondary trauma that providers bear as a result of their work. Read more.
Violent crime leaves invisible injuries. Philly hospital staffers use their life stories to help heal them.
Among programs at other Philadelphia hospitals, PTVRP team members Rodney Babb and Dr. Elinore Kaufman were featured in a special story in the Inquirer on hospital-based violence intervention programs, and how violence intervention specialists like Rodney help patients “get back to a normal life after being shot.” Read more.
As one of eleven CDC Injury Control Research Centers in the nation, we help connect you with the best research, training, and resources in injury and violence prevention.
Access the CDC’s Community Violence Prevention Resource for Action: A Compilation of the Best Available Evidence for Youth and Young Adults.
CVI Hub Leaders
Elinore Kaufman, MD, MSHP
Assistant Professor
Department of Surgery, Division of Traumatology, Surgical Critical Care, and Emergency Surgery, Perelman School of Medicine
Medical Director, Penn Trauma Violence Recovery Program
Chidinma Nwakanma, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine
Attending Physician, Penn Prebyterian Emerency Department and Hospital of University of Pennsylvania
Zaffer Qasim, MBBS, FRCEM, FRCPC(EM), EDIC
Assistant Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine
Asssitant Professor of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Health System
Bernadette Hohl, PhD
Senior Research Investigator
Penn Injury Science Center and Philadelphia Department of Public Health
Ruth Abaya, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Director of Injury Prevention, Philadelphia Department of Public Health
Therese Richmond, PhD, RN, FAAN
Research Core Director
Andrea B. Laporte Professor of Nursing
Associate Dean for Research and Innovation, School of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania
Patrick Reilly, MD
Sara Jacoby, PhD, MPH, RN
Associate Professor of Nursing, Calvin Bland Fellow
Department of Family and Community Health, School of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania