Face to Face Program – Midday Maryland Interview

Victims of domestic violence often have a long road emotionally and physically

when they are starting their lives again. Often they need help and may not know where to start or how to get it. That’s where GBMC health care comes in, it offers a full range of reconstructive and cosmetic procedures and is now

assisting those who have left domestic violence situations here with more information on the face to face program is dr. Sam ha and welcome hi thanks for having me happy to have you here so tell me about the face to face program what is it exactly so the face of face program is a free cosmetic and reconstructive surgery program offered for survivors of domestic violence so a survivor may have scars or other visible deformities that is a visible and painful reminder of their past so the goal of the program is to allow the survivors to not only recover physically but also emotionally by providing some of these free reconstructive procedures so that maybe they can get a fresh start and move ahead and what sort of procedures would it be I mean I know you said scars and what-have-you but are there certain procedures that you definitely cover through the face to

face problem so the treatments are for any deformities that may have occurred

as a result of a domestic violence incident to the head face or neck region. got it so certainly scars are one of the more common ones we treat but it could also include a crooked nose from a nasal fracture or something like that as well who qualifies for this program so the program is open to all survivors of domestic violence so this includes men women children and if they have sustained any deformities that have been caused by a result of domestic violence they may qualify for this program and how do they go about applying then the application process is done through their counselors at a local domestic the center starts domestic shelter mm-hmm I was lter and the process once they apply then they will be paired with a facial plastic surgeon we can provide pro bono free consultation and treatment options for them and the treatments depending on the level of treatment necessary can be done in the office or it might be done in a hospital setting so in my case I’ve partnered with GBMC to support this wonderful program and as you’re doing this and you’re partnering with GBMC to do this what I mean I can only imagine how impactful it is for the victims of domestic violence but also for the medical providers to provide the service absolutely so you know one of the most gratifying things to see is to be able to take someone who’s been very burdened emotionally burdened by this traumatic event and if they have a visible scar on their face at times if they feel that this scar is the first and only thing someone may see about them so while we might not be able to completely remove this physical reminder by performing some procedures to minimize it to camouflage it maybe we can take the focus away from the victim and empower them give them a sense of a fresh start increased self-confidence and yeah that’s something that is priceless reclaiming their power and starting their life again it really is amazing work that you’re doing and how long have you been doing it now so this is gonna be our second year that’s so great\ that’s wonderful so if people want to get more information of course they can go to GBMC org also you know we have our office information there as well but if they want to apply for the program again they need to go through their shelter to do that correct that’s correct all right great thank you so much dr. Hahn and really appreciate you telling us about this program so that we can all spread the word about it as well thanks Rev and we’ll be right back with more midday Maryland right after this stay tuned.