UW Health is committed to reducing intentional and unintentional injury across the life-course. One of its strategies to address firearm injuries in the community is through its hospital-linked gun violence prevention community collaboration and deep partnership with Focused Interruption, a local non-profit dedicated to reducing generational trauma by providing evidence-based intervention and prevention services to the people, neighborhoods, and families most impacted by gun violence.
 
When a victim of gun violence is rushed to the UW Health Emergency Department, the primary goal is to save the patient’s life. During these critical moments, UW Health relies on its partner, Focused Interruption to manage the traumatic aftermath in the minutes, hours and days following the victim’s arrival at the hospital.
 
“After a violent incident involving a shooting or stabbing, we immediately assist the victim's family. The hospital contacts us, and we dispatch two or more outreach workers to support the family. Our aim is to interrupt a potential cycle of violence that often follows such events,” explains Anthony “Coop” Cooper Sr., president and founder of Focused Interruption.
 
Focused Interruption has been a vital partner of UW Health for many years, playing a crucial role in patient care protocols for violent injuries and is a key component to UW Health’s injury prevention work. In addition to the ongoing programmatic collaboration, UW Health provides financial support to Focused Interruption. This partnership allows medical teams to focus on the immediate needs of the patient while Focused Interruption staff handle the complex scenarios that arise from such traumatic incidents. The longstanding collaboration between UW Health and Focused Interruption highlights their commitment to optimizing patient outcomes and the importance of cooperative efforts in managing critical situations.