Several years ago, Thea James noticed the tattoos on young people coming to the ER at Boston Medical Center (BMC)—things like “Born To Be Hated, Dying To Be Loved.” Investigating, she learned the tattoos often referred to lives plagued by violence, a revelation leading her to support (and today, direct) BMC’s Violence Intervention Advocacy Program (VIAP). VIAP staffers guide clients to proper medical services and follow-up, legal help, education, and appropriate government agencies.

James, who has cared onsite for victims of violence both human (the 9/11 terror attack in New York) and natural (Hurricane Katrina, earthquakes in Iran and Haiti), won the Schwartz Center Compassionate Caregiver Award last month. Established in 1999, the award honors health care professionals “who demonstrate extraordinary compassion in caring for patients and families,” according to the announcement.

The Boston-based Schwartz Center is a nonprofit organization that seeks to strengthen patient/caregiver relationships. It was founded by Boston health care attorney Ken Schwartz just days before his death from cancer at 40 in 1995.

“I was kind of speechless” on learning of the honor, says James, a School of Medicine associate professor of emergency medicine and assistant dean of diversity and multicultural affairs. “You don’t expect things like this. There are so many people out here doing the work.”

She attributes her empathy in part to her father, who would upbraid her as a child if she complained about a grumpy cashier after a trip to Burger King, reminding her that perhaps the person had had a crummy day. “‘You have no right to say that,’” he’d tell her. “‘You don’t know about that person.’”

A graduate of Georgetown University’s School of Medicine, James decided on a physician’s career after becoming fascinated by science and premed classes in college. She has been at BMC 23 years, “which is a testament to the way medicine is done in this hospital,” she says, “and the opportunities you get to make a difference in people’s lives”—which, in emergency medicine, she says, happens “every 15 minutes.”

“There’s nothing unusual about these kids except they didn’t have the things the rest of us have. And we turn that around for them.”

James boasts “a natural ability to treat patients as people, not just illnesses,” says Kate Walsh, BMC’s chief executive officer and president. “She is a tireless advocate for victims of violence, both while they are in the hospital and when they return home after tragedy.”

James told 2,000 attendees at November’s award dinner that BMC, a federally designated “safety-net” hospital treating many people who are poor and uninsured, has “a challenging patient population. But given any opportunity, our patients would not choose to suffer. We practice our own brand of medicine to mitigate suffering. Our approach is to know the patient, their barriers, their resources, how they see their disease, what they believe in, and equally important, what they don’t believe.”

She colaunched Unified for Global Healing, a Brooklyn foundation providing health care for underserved communities around the world. Schwartz’s Compassionate Care Award came with a check for $5,000. Four other finalists each received $1,000.