St. Joseph’s Health and the Paterson Healing Collective

St. Joseph’s University Medical Center is one of nine NJ hospitals selected through a competitive RFP process to participate in a new violence intervention initiative of the NJ Office of the Attorney General. SJUMC was awarded $1.8 million in federal funds from the Victims of Crime Act to create an evidence-based hospital-linked violence intervention program (HVIP) aimed at supporting survivors and breaking the cycle of violence in our community of Paterson.

Our HVIP, called the Paterson Healing Collective (PHC), is the first in Passaic County and a collaboration of St. Joseph’s Health and nonprofit community partner Reimagining Justice. Led by Liza Chowdhury, PhD, Program Director, and Casey Melvin, Assistant Director, the PHC consists of 4 staff from SJUMC’s Trauma Dept. and 13 community-based staff employed by Reimagining Justice. Other key partners are James Pruden, MD, Medical Director of Emergency Preparedness, and the Health Coalition of Passaic County (HCPC), a local network of 75+ agencies and community-based organizations.

How the program works: When a patient presents to SJUMC with a gunshot or stabbing wound, physicians will call PHC intervention specialists to respond to the hospital bedside and engage the patient, a critical moment in intervening in the cycle of violence. The interventionists will provide one-on-one support patients during their hospital stay and after discharge to access needed services and avoid retaliatory violence. While SJUMC focuses on healing survivors’ physical trauma, the PHC addresses all the other layers of trauma that may be at play in that individual’s life.

Through the HCPC’s robust network and hyper-local referral platform, the PHC will connect clients to existing community resources – victim services, mental health, legal aid, housing, employment, etc.  The program originally aimed to serve 60 clients but are on track to reach many more; 15 clients have been enrolled in the first month of operations. To be eligible, clients must be a resident of Paterson, age 12 to 39. It’s important to note that most of the PHC staff members were already actively involved in anti-violence work and providing this kind of support to fellow residents. The grant provides resources to formalize and build out infrastructure for their work, and create a continuum of care starting with the patient’s encounter with the hospital.

Our team at the Foundation is proud that St. Joseph’s and our community partners can play a role in getting underneath some of the root causes of the violence in Paterson. This program will allow us to treat violence as a public health issue, learn from the community about what is most needed, and provide services to address those needs. It is our hope that as a St. Joseph’s family we will continue working together and alongside our community partners for a more just, equitable, and inclusive society.

Read more about the Paterson Healing Collective in these articles from NorthJersey.com and Tap Into Paterson. 

Courtesy of Paterson Healing Collective

“It’s been a difficult time for cities in America. There’s been an increase in violence and social injustice. The shooting of George Floyd, as well as COVID, has created additional stresses for people,” said Kevin Slavin, President & CEO, St. Joseph’s Health who believes the timing is right “to let people know there’s hope and great resources available.”

“If we can find a way to address the reasons that put [victims of violence] in this situation through services such as mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, and job training, we can not only help them recover from their injuries….we can also help to decrease the chances of them becoming a victim again.” –James Pruden, MD, Medical Director of Emergency Preparedness

“This program is crucial because it merges credible messenger mentoring, hospital response, case management, mental health and community intervention, which is a multi-pronged effort to provide a holistic approach to not only address violence but also maintain some form of service provision for survivors so that we can make sure they feel supported and safe to thrive in life.” –Liza Chowdhury, PhD, Director, Paterson Healing Collective