Hospital Crisis Intervention Program

A collaborative effort of CAWC and the Cook County Bureau of Health Services, HCIP provides direct services to victims of abuse at the John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County. HCIP also trains health care providers in identification, assessment and referral of patients who are victims of domestic violence. Since HCIP's beginnings as a model for hospital-based domestic violence programs in 1993, we have responded to over 4,000 referrals and have provided over 2,000 battered women with crisis intervention, individual counseling, safety planning, access to emergency shelters, legal and systems advocacy, and referrals to other essential resources. Over 98% of HCIP clients live below the national poverty index and have little access to other sources of healing and support.

       HCIP was the first program of its kind to be founded in a public hospital and continues to provide essential services to        battered women and training to clinicians. In 1994, President Clinton awarded HCIP's co-founder the National Crime        Victims Service Award.

       HCIP supports and informs research partnerships with eminent academic, governmental and scientific entities.These        studies seek to increase our understanding of the dynamics of domestic violence. From 1997 until 2000, HCIP was a        collaborative partner with the Women's Health Risk Study, a longitudinal research project designed to identify risk        factors for serious injury or death in intimate partner violence. HCIP serves as liaison to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital        of Cook County for this project which is led by the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority with funding from the        National Institutes of Justice.

       For five consecutive years, the co-founders and staff of HCIP designed and taught a ten-week course on domestic        violence at the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Medicine. This innovative advocacy-based curriculum is the        most extensive course on domestic violence taught in the U.S.

       In an effort to improve the way the health care system treats battered women, HCIP has trained over 20,000 medical        and social service providers on the public health impact of domestic violence.

       HCIP works actively to change the medical profession's response to victims of domestic violence.

       Sadly, the majority of health care providers do not receive formal training in domestic violence and many medical        residents admit they wouldn't know how to help a battered woman.

       However, last year, HCIP provided training to over 1,800 Chicago emergency medical technicians to further broaden        the outreach available to victims of abuse.