COLUMBIA, S.C. — Prisma Health Richland Hospital's trauma center has been awarded $2 million in grant funding from the United States Department of Justice for a hospital-based violence intervention program aimed to serve victims of community violence.
Currently, the Midlands has a trauma rate twice the national average, according to Prisma Health Injury Prevention Coordinator Lara Peck and her team at the hospitals' health's trauma center.
"We have gunshot woods, stabbings coming into our level one trauma center every day," she said.
Regarding the grant funding, Peck said, "this is truly a programmatic grant, so this is somewhat different in the sense that it will help us provide another service for our patients not only to improve their physical injuries but also look at their emotional health and mental health."
The primary goal of the program is to care for patients beyond the walls of the hospital by connecting them with community-based resources to improve their quality of life.
"We will be looking at housing, education, job attainment, food. Really what are their needs so they can improve the quality of the social and economic aspects of their lives," she said.
Prisma Health has yet to announce the program's launch date but with funding now secured, the developmental process is now underway.
"We will be working with the Health Alliance for Violence Intervention (HAVI) to help us plan," she said. "They are the experts in this area, they have worked with programs all over the country."
During the developmental phase, they will be hearing from the community and community-based resources will be key in creating a program best suited to help citizens of the Midlands.
"Bringing in that community voice so that we can customize it for Columbia and make this a great program for our community," she said.