Attorney General’s Report to Congress
on the Growth of Violent Street Gangs
in Suburban Areas
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More from the Leadership Program -- Corey Smith, MD, FACEP

In January of 2006, the American College of Emergency Physiciansreleased its first National Report Card on the Stateof Emergency Medicine. The intent was to bring criticalissues that face emergency care in the beforethe public eye, considering that emergency care has become the country's safety net for theentire healthcare system. The report card consists of a grading system that assesses the support that eachstate provides for its emergency medicine system. The overall grade of each state is based on four categories. All are given differently weighted values based on importance: access to emergency care, 40%;quality and patient safety,25%;public health and injury/crisis prevention, 10%; andmedical liability environment, 25%. The results indicate that the national emergency healthcare systemis in serious condition, with New Jersey being among those states in critical condition with an overall grade of a C+. Despite receiving a B+ in Public Health and injury prevention, under the subcategory of intentional injury prevention programs, NJ had no violence prevention programs for high risk youth.

In October of 2004, The Violence Prevention Institute(VPI) was founded by four of New Jersey board certified emergency medicine physicians: Duane J. Dyson, MD, FAAEM, Chairman & CEO; Joseph J. Calabro, DO, FACOEP,FACEP, Secretary/Treasurer; Dane E. Clarke, MD, FACEP, Chairman and Sampson Davis, MD. The mission of this East Orange-based organization is to reduce the incidence of youth violence through education and behavior modification. VPI provides Education, Research, Prevention and Intervention programs designed to address the increasing incidence of violent youth behavior. The Institute uses evidence-based research models to assist states, cities, law enforcement, and school boards in designing strategies to address increasing societal problems associated with violent behavior in youth and young adults. Participants are taught corrective skills to change attitudes about gun violence, gang activities and other negative social behaviors, in order to improve school performance, family relationships, reduce criminal activities, and acquire skills that maximize their ability to effectively negotiate peer relationships and other social interactions. Some of the programs include training on the Medical Consequences of Violence for the law enforcement community, Cops and Docs Violence Intervention, Gang Awareness Education for medical personnel, and Workshops on Teenage Health Issues.

Over the past year I have become a speaker for this organization. As an emergency medicine physician who practices at a trauma center in an underserved community, I realize the importance and need for such intervention programs. The leading cause of death between age 1 and 44 is accidents, of which many are preventable. Organizations like this can potentially indirectly change these statistics. Although this addresses one component of larger problems within our society, understanding that small numbers can accomplish great tasks is imperative to creating change. As physicians, we must be leaders within our communities and state, advocating for others as a way to address the many issues we face in our country.

VIOLENCE PREVENTION INSTITUTE, Inc.

a 501(c)(3) Tax Exempt Corporation