NORFOLK, Va. — As homicides across Hampton Roads hit a record high in 2022, so did the number of gunshot victims seeking treatment at a local hospital.
According to figures from Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, the trauma team treated 541 patients for gunshot wounds in 2022. That’s up from 539 patients in 2021 and 466 in 2020.
Dr. Jessica Burgess is a trauma surgeon at the hospital.
“There literally is a shooting every night," she said. "This is normal at Norfolk General, now. This is our new normal now. It can range from minor injuries where people are able to go home, to people that come in and there’s nothing more that we can do for them, to people being stuck in a hospital for months with a prolonged recovery.”
The figures say 69 gunshot patients died at the Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in 2022.
“From 2018, the number of gunshot wounds that we had that year, we’ve doubled that for 2022 and it’s looking like it’s going to be even worse this year," Dr. Burgess said. “Telling a family that they will never see their loved one again is the worst part of my job and that never gets easier.”
In response to the rising violence, hospital administrators launched a violence intervention program. Angela Parker is the head of Sentara Norfolk General Hospital’s Foresight Violence Intervention Program.
“Just ways that we can address whatever they’re facing so they have less of a chance of coming back into the hospital," Parker said. “It [gun violence] has a huge impact on the community, it has a huge impact on the hospital systems, it has a huge impact on families, the school systems, the economy – and it’s truly an indication of a much larger problem.”
Parker said her team makes bedside visits – working with survivors to “redirect their lives.” She said the program offers housing, employment and educational resources.
Hospitals taking the initiative to get involved in gun violence prevention isn’t an entirely new concept, but Parker said it’s grown in popularity across the country as gun violence rises.
“There aren’t many, but there are far more than what there were four, five years ago because of the increase in gun violence," Parker said. "Because Norfolk General is a level one trauma hospital, we have this program because of the number of gun violence victims that we get here.”
She said it's work that requires community collaboration.
According to figures from Sentara, other hospitals saw “slight reductions” in gunshot patients last year, including Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital and Sentara CarePlex Hospital in Hampton. Parker said that’s because Sentara Norfolk General Hospital is a level one trauma center with doctors who treat most of the gun violence cases in our area.
“It takes a toll on all of us," Parker said. "It takes a toll on the surgeons, the doctors, it takes a toll on the violence intervention team for sure.”
Last year, doctors at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital also treated 114 stabbing victims, resulting in one death, and 214 assault victims.