During Gun Violence Awareness Month in June, the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA) is pleased to announce that the Virginia Hospital-based Violence Intervention Program (HVIP) Collaborative has received a third year of grant funding to continue the important work of providing clinical and post-clinical support services to community violence victims. Ongoing HVIP work is an example of how Virginia hospitals are leading efforts to reduce gun violence in Virginia communities through proven, effective, and evidence-based strategies. The HVIP Collaborative in Virginia is facilitated by VHHA’s not-for-profit affiliate, the VHHA Foundation, and is grant-funded by the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services’ (DCJS) Victim Services Grant Program, through the U.S. Department of Justice.
The third year of grant funding (July 1, 2021-June 30, 2022) will help support HVIP initiatives at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters (CHKD), Riverside Regional Medical Center, Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, and VCU Health. During the first two years of the grant, HVIP initiatives have operated at these Virginia hospitals and health systems: Bon Secours Richmond, Chesapeake Regional Medical Center, Riverside Regional Medical Center, Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, and VCU Health.
Through March 2021, HVIP initiatives at Virginia hospitals have served 1,820 patients, including 1,739 served since the April 2020 onset of COVID-19. Participating hospitals have collectively maintained a re-injury rate of approximately 1.4 percent. This accomplishment occurred even as participating HVIP hospitals experienced a 63 percent increase in emergency department discharges from April-October 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to direct medical care provided to community violence victims, participating HVIP hospitals also provided hundreds of patients with information about victim rights, victim advocacy and support during emergency medical care, assistance in applying for public benefits, crisis intervention services, emergency financial assistance, transportation assistance, and shelter or housing services.
