Ted Corbin, MD, an associate professor in the College of Medicine, is changing the way hospitals in Philadelphia — and around the country — respond to victims of violence. In recognition of these efforts, Corbin has been nominated as a semifinalist in the Be Well Philly Health Hero Challenge, presented by Philadelphia magazine and Independence Blue Cross.
Corbin is the medical director of Healing Hurt People (HHP), an intervention program that addresses the needs of young men and women who end up in the emergency room after a violent injury — what he calls a “crucial moment” in a victim’s life. The “trauma-informed” program works by connecting an HHP staff member with patients while they’re still in the hospital. After their release, they are linked with medical follow-ups and support services like mentoring, legal services, group therapy and more.
Healing Hurt People, based out of Drexel’s Center for Nonviolence and Social Justice, began serving patients in 2008 at Hahnemann University Hospital, where Corbin still works as an emergency medicine physician. The program has expanded to five of the city’s major trauma centers, and is now offered in cities throughout the country, including Chicago and Portland.
In his interview with Philadelphia magazine, Corbin says stress is “the greatest threat to our collective health as a city.” Through Healing Hurt People, he is striving to improve the physical, mental and emotional well-being of young people in Philadelphia who are so often trapped in a cycle of trauma and violence.
You can vote for Corbin to become the 2017 Health Hero from Aug. 22 to Sept. 18. And read his full interview at the Philadelphia magazine website.
For media inquiries, contact Lauren Ingeno at lingeno@drexel.edu or 215.895.2614.
