Hospitals Against Violence | Addressing Gun Violence
Hospitals and health systems have a mission of treating patients, healing communities and saving lives. Every day, hospitals and health systems across the country respond to the injuries caused by gun violence. Care teams experience firsthand the crippling effects of gun violence as they care for victims. They also are the ones delivering difficult news to families and comforting them during these heart-wrenching moments.
As places of healing, hope, safety and security, hospitals and health systems have an important role to play to ensure that communities and workplaces are safe. To that end, the AHA’s Hospitals Against Violence Initiative developed and curated resources and insights to advance the field’s efforts to combat the public health challenge of gun violence.
We welcome you to reach out to us at HospitalsAgainstViolence@aha.org to let us know about the great work you’re doing to combat gun violence from a public health approach. Additional resources and information can be found on AHA’s Convening Leaders for Emergency and Response (CLEAR) page.
Featured Resources
Podcast: The Role of Firearm Safety
in Preventing Suicide
Dr. Emmy Betz, director of the Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, joins Laura Castellanos, associate director, Hospitals Against Violence, AHA, to explore the connections between firearms and suicide, and what hospitals and healthcare systems need to know about firearm suicide prevention.
Hospitals United is a national public awareness campaign launched by Northwell Health to encourage parents to ask family and friends if firearms are safely stored in their home. The campaign’s broadcast, print and digital public service messages and website highlight that access to unlocked guns can lead to death, suicide and gun violence, making it more likely that children die from guns than cancer or automobile accidents. The website provides tips on how to have a conversation with other parents about safely stored firearms and encourages parents and caregivers to normalize this conversation.