BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, May 16, 2025 — One Brooklyn Health Brookdale Hospital is proud to announce the 3rd Annual National Trauma Awareness Month event, held on Friday, May 16, 2025, at the Brookdale Campus’s Kahn Auditorium. The event gathered survivors, healthcare professionals, advocates, and policymakers for a day of reflection, education, and action.
This month marks National Trauma Awareness Month, a nationwide initiative dedicated to highlighting the impact of trauma on individuals and communities. As a Level 2 Trauma Center, OBH Brookdale Hospital serves Central Brooklyn neighborhoods including Brownsville, East New York, East Flatbush, and Canarsie—offering critical trauma care and advancing awareness around healing and prevention.
Led by OBH’s Violence Intervention Through Advocacy and Leadership (VITAL) program, the symposium—titled The Shift—offered a full day of programming. The event featured opening remarks from hospital leadership, a keynote address by Dr. Rob Gore of Kings County Hospital and KAVI, and panels centered on trauma-informed recovery through survivor-led healing, community care, and systems change.
Panels were moderated by respected leaders, including NYS Assembly member Brian Cunningham, who facilitated a policy-driven conversation on building safer communities and strengthening the future of violence intervention in East Brooklyn.
“ How do we transition our workforce to be, to move from violence interrupters to check in, to get early, to be researchers, and those other folks? asked NYS Assembly member Brian Cunningham?” His question sparked conversation about evolving the role of community-based workers.
One of the most powerful moments of the day came during the Trauma Survivors breakout discussion, where community members courageously shared their journeys. The discussion was supported by OBH’s VITAL program, which provides bedside crisis support, case management, access to counseling and culturally relevant mental health services, and leadership development. By connecting survivors to housing, legal aid, and education or job training, the program helps break cycles of violence and foster long-term healing.
“Continued advocacy, clear communication about the impact, and recognizing the leadership and value of front-line workers in community violence intervention are essential. Supporting our workforce requires a community effort to stay connected, build strong networks, and ensure programs provide staff with the resources, benefits, and support they need to succeed,” said Princess Fortin, Senior Director of Organizational Growth & Equity and ( HAVI) Health Alliance for Violence Intervention.
Dr. Rami Abdel-Naby, Chief of Trauma Surgery and Trauma Medical Director at OBH, emphasized the importance of continued education and collaboration in addressing the community’s trauma recovery needs. The only way we can continue being successful as a trauma program and as people who deliver high quality and high standards of healthcare to our community, is by everybody sitting here, because everybody here knows our patients, knows our community, knows what we go through” said Dr. Abdel-Naby.
The day also included breakout sessions like the Wellness Healing Circle led by All Kings Inc., and a Summer Crisis Response Strategy Session led by OBH VITAL—both aimed at encouraging cross-sector collaboration among local organizations, clinicians, and elected leaders.
In closing, OBH Brookdale Hospital honored front-line healthcare workers—including emergency department staff, ICU teams, surgical nurses, and case managers—along with community-based organizations like Elite Learners, God Squad, and Central Brooklyn Development Corporation, for their ongoing contributions to trauma care and recovery.
One Brooklyn Health Brookdale Hospital remains committed to Central Brooklyn to provide exceptional healthcare, advancing education and trauma awareness to help keep communities safe. This important event will be live-streamed for those unable to attend in person. Live Stream link:
About One Brooklyn Health
One Brooklyn Health was established to preserve and enhance health care services in the communities of Central Brooklyn and is composed of three hospitals and their affiliated
facilities, Interfaith Medical Center, Brookdale Hospital Medical Center and Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center. All three hospitals have historic ties to the communities they serve and are working together to build a system that will enable OBH to provide the highest quality and widest breadth of healthcare services to those in need. To learn more visit us at onebrooklynhealth.org.