University of Maryland Capital Region Health Awarded State Grant Funding to Support Capital Area Violence Intervention Program

University of Maryland Capital Region Health has been awarded nearly $100,000 in state grant funding to support its Capital Area Violence Intervention Program (CAP-VIP). CAP-VIP is a hospital-based violence intervention program providing care and support services to patients recovering from violent injuries. The funding, which totals $99,999.49, was awarded through the Maryland Department of Health Center for Firearm Violence Prevention and Intervention. Established in 2024, the Center seeks to create safer communities by addressing firearm violence.

Based in the only trauma center in Prince George's County, CAP-VIP provides support to patients ages 15 to 40 who are at high risk for repeat violent injury. Through trauma-informed care, intensive case management, and community-based programs, CAP-VIP addresses factors that contribute to violence and poor health outcomes, including barriers related to employment, housing, education, and behavioral health services. The funding awarded to CAP-VIP will allow the program to provide patients with clothing and rideshare services, and will help train frontline staff on responding to gun violence.

"Violence is a public health challenge that affects individuals, families, and communities long after a patient leaves the hospital," said Nathaniel Richardson, Jr., President, UM Capital Region Health. "This funding will help us continue providing critical support and resources that reduce the likelihood of reinjury and help patients build healthier, more stable futures."

The Maryland Department of Health recognized CAP-VIP as part of its efforts to support programs focused on prevention, intervention, and healing. Through partnerships with community organizations and service providers, CAP-VIP helps patients navigate recovery while addressing social determinants of health associated with recurring violence.

"This program is about meeting people at a pivotal moment in their recovery and connecting them with the support they need to move forward," said Dr. Bethany Strong, MD, MS, Medical Director of CAP-VIP. "We're grateful for this investment in a program that creates meaningful opportunities for healing, resilience and long-term success."

About University of Maryland Capital Region Health

Providing primary and specialty health care services to Prince George's County and surrounding areas, University of Maryland Capital Region Health was established in September 2017 upon formal affiliation with the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) and is committed to improving health outcomes in the communities it serves. University of Maryland Capital Region Health operates the University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center in Largo, University of Maryland Laurel Medical Center, University of Maryland Bowie Health Campus, and the University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Group with practice locations in New Carrollton, Suitland, Bowie, Laurel and the National Harbor.

Together, community physicians and University of Maryland School of Medicine (SOM) faculty provide clinical expertise across a range of specialties and programs including: acute rehabilitation; anesthesiology; critical and chronic ventilation care; emergency medicine; neonatology; orthopedics; and vascular surgery. University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center is home to the county's only Level II Trauma Center and a highly regarded cardiac surgery program, which is led by faculty from the University of Maryland School of Medicine; a certified and designated primary stroke center. For more information, visit www.umcapitalregion.org

About the University of Maryland Medical System

The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is an academic private health system, focused on delivering compassionate, high-quality care and putting discovery and innovation into practice at the bedside. Partnering with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland, Baltimore who educate the state's future health care professionals, UMMS is an integrated network of care, delivering 25 percent of all hospital care in urban, suburban and rural communities across the state of Maryland. UMMS puts academic medicine within reach through primary and specialty care delivered at 11 hospitals, including the flagship University of Maryland Medical Center, the System's anchor institution in downtown Baltimore, as well as through a network of University of Maryland Urgent Care centers and more than 150 other locations in 13 counties. For more information, visit www.umms.org.