"I cannot remember the name of the physician who talked to us, but he was very compassionate," said Corbin, now 43. Such humanity in the face of trauma left a lasting impression, he said.
Born in West Philadelphia, raised in Yeadon, Corbin majored in biology at Lincoln University, taught high school science for two years in the Bronx, and trained at the Medical College of Pennsylvania-Hahnemann. He did a residency at Howard University Hospital, worked for seven years at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, and began at Drexel in 2007.
At Howard, he treated many shooting, stabbing, and beating victims. "If we could stabilize them, we sent them back out," he said. It was "treat them and street them."
Healing Hurt People, begun in 2008, with funding from the Stoneleigh Foundation, addresses the psychological and physical wounds of trauma. Using a team that includes psychiatrists, ER doctors, and social workers, the program provides referrals at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children and Hahnemann in an effort to reduce reinjury and retaliation. So far, it has served about 200 children and young adults.
In this edited conversation with staff writer Michael Matza, Corbin discusses why "hurt people hurt people" and what to do about it.
Question: Thirty years ago, the Centers for Disease Control identified homicide as the leading cause of death for African American males 15 to 24. What have we learned since then?
