by Daniel Johnson
June 16, 2025
Howard College hosted its fifth Annual Victors Over Violence Award Ceremony at Howard College Hospital.
On Might 30, Howard College hosted its fifth Annual Victors Over Violence Award Ceremony at Howard College Hospital, an occasion that honors survivors of traumatic violence in addition to the healthcare groups that help them.
Howard College’s hospital has been designated a Stage I Trauma Middle and treats roughly 40,000 sufferers a 12 months by its emergency division. It additionally holds house for trauma surgeons, nurses, psychological well being advocates, and a violence intervention and prevention unit that gives wraparound care extending from the neighborhood to the hospital’s intensive care unit.
Based on a press launch from Howard College, a few of the scars survivors carry don’t ever heal. “The ache doesn’t depart—you simply be taught to dwell with it,” honoree Derrick Scott stated within the ceremony. “I misplaced my finest good friend. Day-after-day I carry that ache. However I’m nonetheless right here. And I’m nonetheless combating.”
Kenyatta Hazlewood, BSN, MPH, RN, and the operational officer of the Trauma Program who hosted the ceremony, stated within the press launch that Scott’s story is central to why the hospital is dedicated to honoring all the victims of traumatic violence, together with, however not restricted to, gun violence.
“The primary objective is all the time to save lots of a life,” stated Dr. Alexander Evans. “However what comes after—the emotional, psychological, and religious therapeutic—that’s the place the true restoration begins. Each affected person carries their damage otherwise. Some want surgical procedures. Some want silence. All of them want help.”
Scott opened up concerning the wounds that those that dwell carry inside them.
“Not everyone walks away from it,” Scott stated. “I misplaced my good friend that night time. I give it some thought day by day. A few of us are nonetheless in it. A few of us try to run from it. However one of the best ways by is to face it, to speak about it, and to search out individuals who received’t allow you to quit.”
Based on Dr. Roger A. Mitchell, the president of Howard College Hospital, Scott’s story emphasizes the necessity for traumatic violence to be seen and handled as a public well being disaster.
“Once we discuss trauma, we’re not simply speaking about gunshot wounds or automotive accidents—we’re speaking concerning the continual, layered influence of violence on whole communities. Which means exhibiting up for survivors not solely after they arrive in disaster, however lengthy after they’ve been discharged.”
He concluded, “Therapeutic doesn’t occur in a single surgical procedure. It’s a course of, and it requires neighborhood. Occasions like this luncheon remind us that the folks we look after are greater than instances. Once you see somebody like Derrick come again stronger, it’s a reminder of the influence we will have when trauma care is steady, compassionate, and community-based.”
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