Staff and community partners earn recognition for violence prevention efforts

Christiana Care Violence Prevention Coordinator Chaz Molins, LCSW, has been awarded the “Peacemaker Among Us” award by Pacem in Terris, an interfaith, nonprofit organization in Delaware whose mission focuses on advancing peace and justice.

A social worker by training, Molins coordinates the violence prevention programs that are carried out by Christiana Care’s Trauma Program. Those programs include:

  • You Only Live Once (YOLO): a re-enactment of a trauma resuscitation inside Christiana Hospital’s Virtual Education and Simulation Training Center designed to offer young people an honest and unrestricted look at the consequences of violence.
  • Violence prevention videos: short films and documentaries designed to show young people the medical consequences of violence and ways to prevent violence.
  • We are the Why: a community partnership that gives young men a chance to learn about the consequences of gun violence and the dangers of being confrontational during police interactions.

“Chaz is deeply committed to ensuring that our neighbors in Delaware understand that violence is a public health issue that is very preventable,” said Kevin M. Bradley, M.D., FACS, medical director of the Trauma Program at Christiana Care. “We are grateful that his hard work is being recognized through this prestigious award.”

Molins was selected for a “Peacemaker Among Us” award specifically for incorporating disciplined research and creative means of communications — coupled with successful community partnerships — to help combat gun violence through public health initiatives.

“Chaz Molins is a dynamic force for bringing peace to our streets and community,” said Pacem in Terris executive director Medard Gabel. “His work is inspiring, thoughtful and effective. Our community needs more like him.”

Christiana Hospital features the only Level I trauma center for both adults and children in Delaware, and the only one of its kind between Baltimore and Philadelphia.

Molins’ recognition is part of a string of accolades that Christiana Care’s Trauma Program has received in recent months. In September, The Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma awarded the trauma program its John M. Templeton Jr., M.D., Injury Prevention Research Scholarship. Named after the late Dr. John (Jack) Templeton, this $10,000 scholarship supports research in the field of injury prevention. The trauma program will use the scholarship to study the effectiveness of its YOLO program.

In addition, partners of Trauma’s violence prevention programs also were recently recognized in August at the Healing Justice Conference in Baltimore, which brought together the top experts and experience in the field of violence prevention.

At the conference, Derrick Chambers, hospital responder and violence interrupter with partner agency Cease Violence Wilmington, received the inaugural Willis Young Memorial Award, which celebrates outstanding work on the frontline of a hospital-based violence-intervention program.

In addition, Christiana Care’s VOICE (Violence Outreach Intervention and Community Engagement) Program colleague Christian Harris, who participates in the YOLO program and other violence prevention initiatives, received the Young Leadership Scholarship at the conference.

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