C. Loughran2, T. Zakrison1, S. Rogers1, P. Prakash1, K. Wilson1, D. Whatley1, I. Green2, M. Elgindy2, M. Mulcrone2, B. Stolbach1, N. Sen-Gupta1, R. Pillai1, J. Chavez1, C. Robinson1, F. Cosey-Gay1, M. Francis1, S. S. Gill1, C. Hardaway1, E. Wilkins1, M. J. Chaudhary1 1University Of Chicago, Surgery, Chicago, IL, USA 2Legal Aid Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
Introduction:
Patients impacted by violent injury are disproportionately from marginalized race and class backgrounds. They frequently suffer from multiple health harming legal needs such as lack of access to housing, public benefits or employment despite being eligible for these services. Medical-legal partnerships (MLPs) may help such patients obtain these resources by bringing them direct access to a lawyer at the bedside during their hospital contact for violent injury. Lawyers with the MLP are able to advocate for patients in a number of ways such as assisting those who have been denied services, taking legal action on a patient's behalf, and working them through the application process in order to remedy these health-harming legal needs. This paper sought to evaluate the first MLP in the United States connected to a level 1 trauma center in order to understand what state benefits or services it may help patients access.
Methods:
Initial data from the first national medical-legal partnership (MLP) between an urban level 1 trauma center and a non-profit legal services organization in Chicago, IL was used to characterize the type of services most commonly accessed by violently injured patients. This MLP was housed within the hospital’s violence intervention program to address the root social and economic causes of injury. In the first quarter of this MLP a total of n=80 patient cases were reviewed to characterize the type and frequency of various benefits and services successfully accessed during this pilot phase.
Results:
A total of n=57 patients opened 80 cases with MLP lawyers with several patients opening up more than one case. Most patients initiating cases were African American (n=73) and male (n=61). A total of n=14 patients were unstably housed and n=6 were children. The vast majority of initiated cases were for public benefits (n=58) followed by housing (n=4), and employment (n=4). Within public benefits, most cases were for crime victim compensation (CVC) (n=19), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (n=16), and Supplemental Security Income (SSI)/Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) (n=13) (Figure 1). Obtaining SNAP and SSI were the most time consuming cases for legal staff.
Conclusion:
Patients impacted by violent injury exhibited a range of health harming legal needs linked to food and economic insecurity that were addressed directly by the first trauma center MLP in the nation. This MLP most commonly assisted patients in accessing public benefits, specifically crime victim compensation, food stamps and supplemental income. Trauma centers can utilize MLPs to directly address the root social and economic causes of violent injury.
