Episode 65 Mike Nolan - ”Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home”

Shreveport-Bossier: My City, My Community, My Home

Mike Nolan, Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport's Pediatric Trauma Coordinator, sits down with Jeffrey Goodman, Director of Marketing and Development for the YMCA of Northwest Louisiana, to answer the following questions:

0:25 1. In May of 2022, Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport started a new program for teens and families affected by gun violence. The program is called PROTECT, which stands for Providing Resources and Outreach Tools for Every Child and Teen.

Mike, you serve as Ochsner LSU Health Shreveport’s Pediatric Trauma Coordinator and once said,

“If you look at all of our patients who are pediatric patients who come in with traumatic injuries, 26% of them are due to firearm injuries. The national average is 8%. So, we are more than 3x the national trauma center’s average in terms of the proportion of our pediatric patients to come in with gun-related injuries.”

Let’s start here today. We will get to the details of how the PROTECT program works but first tell me about the genesis of PROTECT. How did the idea first come about to start the program?

2:17 2. I read that you had assistance from a mentoring facility in St. Louis. And that they’ve reduced their-re-injury rate from 40% down to almost 4% with their program and helped untold numbers of families.

How did you work with this facility in St. Louis and how did you first become aware of their program and work in this area?

3:38 3. For the lay person out there who perhaps has never met a young person impacted by gun violence, paint a picture for me of what life looks like for some of these patients you come into contact with through PROTECT.

4:51 4. I’ve read where you have said that gun violence should be treated as a public health issue and that PROTECT is taking a public health approach.

The program’s goal is to heal youth impacted by gun violence by providing resources like mental health services, shelter assistance and mentoring.

Walk me through some of the services provided by PROTECT and take me through what a potential case may look like and how you would work with a patient.

12:02 5. I came across another quote from you where you said:

“We don’t have housing for them, but if the child or teenager decides, ‘When I get out of school every day, I don’t want to go hang out in these same places,’ where’s a safe place for them to go? So now we’re partnering with SPAR to get a route in the community to do things like that.”

I know we are in need of more mentors and more after-school programs for our community. Do you see signs that we’re making progress in these areas?

13:17 6. I know you are providing wraparound services for these gunshot victims through PROTECT. Can you talk about some of your community partners as well as the areas where you could still use partners and support?