In June of 2024, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy declared firearm violence in America a public health crisis.
“Firearm violence is an urgent public health crisis that has led to loss of life, unimaginable pain, and profound grief for far too many Americans,” Murthy said.
Long before this official declaration, the magnitude of the gun violence epidemic was heart-breakingly well-known to doctors, nurses and EMTs who see firsthand its tragic impacts on a daily basis.
People treated for gunshot wounds in hospitals are more likely to be shot again and return to the hospital or die from the wound. Statistics from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health show that over 50% of U.S. firearm-owning households do not store their weapons safely. Further, this research notes that over 80% of youth suicides are attributable to firearms belonging to family members and that 80% of school shooters access firearms from within their own homes.
Gun safety as violence prevention
In response to this growing public health crisis and with support from its national community of donors, CommonSpirit Health Foundation developed the Gun Safety and Education Initiative. This pilot program has successfully launched in multiple regions of CommonSpirit Health’s 24-state footprint: CHI Saint Joseph Health in Kentucky and Virginia Mason Franciscan Health (VMFH) in Washington.
“CommonSpirit’s vision has always been to restore communities,” says Mollie Harris, Violence Prevention Manager at Saint Joseph London Nurturing Children Program in London, KY, the initiative has been underway. “We realize that violence never has a winner and that it never affects one person, but it destroys families and communities.”
The innovative program seeks to meet gun-owning families where they are and uses a multi-faceted approach to addressing and preventing gun violence to support families to adopt safe storage practices. The program’s activities include community-based education and awareness initiatives, provider screening in the adult primary care setting, and giving out tools and resources such as gun locks, which empower families to protect children by ensuring firearms are stored safely.
“We believe that as we change the trajectory in current social norms, we will see reductions in unintentional injuries and fatalities, suicides, and even homicides as access to unsafely stored firearms is increasingly restricted,” says Harris. “This project builds on the work already in motion through the Total Health Roadmap and United Against Violence programs in both pilot communities.”
From pilot to prevention
The program is funded in part by the Mission & Ministry Fund, which supports community-based social needs (Total Health Roadmap) and violence prevention programs (United Against Violence) within CommonSpirit’s ministry. Additional funds for the $80,000 program come from CommonSpirit Health Foundation and the system’s national fundraising efforts.
VMFH also received nearly $2 million from the State of Washington to expand youth violence prevention work, and to build the capacity of nonprofit partners to prevent gun violence and involvement in the juvenile justice system.
The Seattle health system has been working on community-based safe firearm storage projects since 2018. These are one-day events held at community centers or sporting equipment stores.
“We were approached about screening and distributing devices through our clinics and thought it was a great idea,” says Doug Baxter-Jenkins, Region Director, Community Health at VMFH. “Instead of relying on media and one-time events, we can leverage the positive relationships our providers and clinic staff already have with patients to keep families safe.”
In the past year, Saint Joseph Health has provided gun safety presentations to three school districts, educating 8,000 students as well as staff. The hospital is also screening for needed services in pediatric clinics to allow education and tools to be provided to anyone who needs them.
“We intend to pilot this program in clinics with existing community health workers (CHWs),” explains Harris. “VMFH will add a question to our existing social drivers of health screening questionnaire about unsecured firearms. If a patient indicates that they have an unsecured firearm, we can reach out to offer a free device and provide education on how to properly secure firearms. Our Violence Prevention team will help with keeping proper inventory, providing training for the CHW team, and continuing our community-based efforts.”
In the future, Harris and Baxter-Jenkins would like to see funding that supports expansion into more CommonSpirit communities with education and awareness initiatives, training for providers on screening, and tools and resources that immediately make a difference, like gunlocks and educational brochures.
“Our goal is to make this a topic that is easily addressed with youth as well as adults in homes, school settings, pediatrician appointments and in the community,” says Harris. “By keeping safety first, and educating not only children, but parents, grandparents and anyone who may have a firearm and children in a home, we strive to see an increase of safety. When our children are safe, it is a benefit to our hospitals and our community as a whole.”
Baxter-Jenkins adds, “Gun violence in any form is devastating. It disproportionately impacts our youth and communities of color. The ripple effects of gun violence have spread across families and communities for years. It is also preventable. We see this program as one component of an effort to provide holistic support to our young people who are hurting.”
