When victims of violent crimes come to hospitals, they receive treatment and then go home — usually to the same desperate conditions that caused the initial harm. Worried by this revolving-door phenomenon, Carnell Cooper started the Violence Intervention Program in 1998. Through VIP, a victim of violence receives medical attention, counseling and social support to help the patient make life changes that will keep him or her out of the trauma unit.
To keep up with his program, Dr. Cooper maintains a 60-hour work week, personally mentors two VIP clients, attends court hearings and even visits patients in jail. He gives patients his pager, cell and home numbers.
Carnell Cooper is making history … treating patients and keeping them from coming back. VIP first oversaw a comprehensive, case-control study in 2000 to identify the risk factors for victims of repeat violence. This told doctors who would most need and best benefit from guidance combining the resources of medical, legal and peer-based communities. At-risk individuals undergoing the Violence Intervention Program are 83 percent less likely to repeat hospitalization due to violent injury, and 75 percent less likely to commit a violent crime themselves.
What’s next for Carnell?
Dr. Cooper is working to expand VIP services from the University of Maryland Medical city and hopes to eventually achieve nationwide implementation. Carnell has also developed a larger, umbrella program, the Violence Prevention Program, which combines the VIP with the PHAT project, an after-school initiative, designed create an atmosphere of good decision-making in Baltimore’s teenage population.
In his own words …
“If you’re going to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, you first have to have boots.”
A little-known fact …
Baltimore, Md. ranks as the 10th most violent city in the U.S. according to a Forbes Magazine list compiled from FBI violent crime tables.
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