Christina Jedra

The News Journal

Delaware health care providers said on Thursday that they are ready and willing to assist with Wilmington's anti-violence efforts.

At a meeting of the Delaware Health Care Commission, hospital and primary care leaders said they want to help the city achieve goals outlined in a report based on research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Local leaders — under the direction of City Council President Hanifa Shabazz, who requested the federal review issued in 2015 — released a report with recommendations in January and have been meeting monthly since to plan pilot programs for this summer.

Meanwhile, the violence is quickening its pace, said Kara Odom Walker, secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services. There have been 71 shooting victims in Wilmington so far this year, 16 of them fatal.

"We really have not been able to turn that trend yet, and we’re trying to figure that out collectively," she said.

The Delaware Health Care Commission is a public and private policy-setting body created by the General Assembly to "allow creative thinking outside the usual confines of conducting day-to-day state business."

Regarding the CDC work, officials are attempting to combine data across city, county and state departments. They want to identify individuals whose circumstances – such as prior arrests, unemployment or a history of child abuse – could seem benign in silos but, when combined, create a picture of someone at risk of becoming a victim or perpetrator of gun violence. Leaders hope to target those young people with services before it's too late.

"We're trying to figure out who owns these different pieces and also how do we collectively develop something that is a real wrap-around approach?" Walker said.

Proactive violence intervention is complex, Walker said.

"I'm not a lawyer. I don't know how to navigate all these HIPAA laws, FERPA laws," she said, referring to federal laws that safeguard medical information. "We have all kinds of legal barriers to actually doing that in real time, but I think collectively with the health care provider community, we can figure out how to identify some of these issues.”

Walker cited a study that found doctors are more likely to ask young patients about smokers in their home than about community violence. She encouraged the health care providers in the room to do so.

The first concrete implementation efforts of the CDC reports are expected this summer. Officials hope to "increase the capacity" of community centers that are using CDC-approved methods and invest in a year-round youth employment program. Specific details and how programs would be funded has not been announced.

Walker noted: "We really have a short period of time before school lets out."

STORY: Post CDC report, officials suggest more youth support

STORY: Wilmington council head: More youth support coming

At the meeting, leaders from local health care centers shared stories of how gun violence has affected their medical practices and their desire to be involved in solutions.

"We’re ready, willing and able to partner with the leadership to find solutions to this powerful social determinant," said Meredith Stewart Tweedie, vice president of government affairs and strategic engagement for the Christiana Care Health System.

Christiana, which sometimes handles multiple gunshot victims in a day, hired a full-time social worker three years ago to connect patients with resources.

Yvette Gbemudu, a family physician at Henrietta Johnson Medical Center, said that while emergency rooms see gun violence victims bleeding from their wounds, primary care providers see victims "bleeding from the inside."

"We see the fallout from the gun violence," she said.

The Henrietta Johnson Medical Center also has a social worker to complement doctors' services, Gbemudu said. The intention was to assist with behavioral health intervention, such as helping a patient who is having trouble taking their medication. In practice, health care workers quickly observed that gun violence affects more than just the physical health of the victim.

"You find out they're grieving the loss of a family member … and they’re not able to get it all together to take care of themselves," Gbemudu said.

Patient trauma and deaths also impact their health care providers, said Chris Manning, director of Delaware Valley Government Relations at Nemours. The health care provider's location on Jessup Street has a memorial bulletin board to remember fallen patients.

"This affects the folks at that Jessup Street practice significantly," he said. "It’s devastating to them."

Contact Christina Jedra at (302) 324-2837, cjedra@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ChristinaJedra.