Denver Health’s Post

A growing number of clinicians and hospital leaders are insisting that the U.S. health care system play a greater role in preventing gun violence in all its forms. The new issue of #TransformingCare highlights the efforts of health care providers to develop a more comprehensive response to the gun violence that continues to plague America. Modeled on effective public health campaigns targeting cigarette smoking and car accidents, these new gun violence prevention efforts focus on screening and surveillance to identify people at risk and reveal patterns of injury. They also develop, test, and evaluate novel approaches to treating gun violence, often in partnership with the communities most affected by it. Other initiatives focus on public awareness and provider education, aiming to make firearm injury prevention an expected part of health care delivery.

I wholeheartedly endorse this initiative—it's a strategic application of insights gleaned from past tragedies. Law enforcement and fire districts partnering with hospitals in their jurisdictions should take the lead in crafting, red-teaming, testing, and training Hospital Task Force plans. The foresight embedded in this concept is not only intelligent but also promises to save lives. Executing these plans, completing after-action reports, and making iterative improvements will ensure that police and fire resources are strategically stationed, and ready to be deployed promptly if required. Moreover, this forward-thinking approach fosters the kind of relationship that's vital for real-time teamwork, rapid planning, and effective plan execution on the ground. Training for such scenarios goes beyond theoretical preparedness; it builds the trust and understanding necessary for seamless collaboration. The implicit guidance, control, and empowerment to act are the elements that truly distinguish an effective emergency response. #EmergencyPreparedness #PublicSafety #FirstResponders #HospitalSafety #Collaboration #CommunitySafety #CrisisResponse #FirstResponderTraining #DisasterPreparedness #SafetyPlanning #Teamwork #LawEnforcement #Firefighters #DisasterResponse #CriticalInfrastructure #CommunityResilience #StrategicPlanning #EmergencyManagement #PublicHealth #SafetyFirst #RescueTaskForce #RedTeaming

Assistant Attorney General Amy L. Solomon joined healthcare executives, researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and advocates on Feb. 27. in New York City at the 5th annual Gun Violence Prevention Forum. Hosted by Northwell Health, the forum focused on building and harnessing momentum to address gun violence as a public health emergency. She discussed the vital role of healthcare institutions in implementing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022, particularly focusing on hospital-based violence intervention programs (#HVIPs). With an estimated 50,000 ER visits for gun-related injuries annually, scaling up these programs nationwide is crucial for creating safer communities. One-fifth of recent grantees under OJP’s Community Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative, a historic federal grant program funded in part through BSCA, are implementing hospital-based violence interventions as part of their strategy. OJP’s Office for Victims of Crime also supports training and technical assistance, delivered by The Health Alliance for Violence Intervention, to enhance services to victims by strengthening the infrastructure and quality of hospital-based programs. AAG Solomon noted the need to scale up HVIPs in hospitals across the nation, which see an estimated 50,000 emergency room visits for gun-related injuries each year. #GunViolencePrevention #SaferCommunities #PublicHealth | Learn more: https://lnkd.in/eNh89CFD

Principles of trauma care are central to savings lives in an #activeshooter situation. #sccadems #paramedics, along with firefighters & police officers, are training collaboratively on ways to rapidly extract for victims. As Chief Medical Officer David K. Tan, M.D. shares with David Amelotti and the KMOV-TV team, first responders and bystanders alike have the ability to #improvepatientoutcomes! https://lnkd.in/gzTbcPHn

A custody navigator programme which works with young people in Cleveland to break the cycle of offending has been expanded to the region’s main hospital in an effort to work with victims of violence related to alcohol or substance abuse, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports. ❝The alcohol care team or serious violence navigator working side-by-side can triage that individual and send the right person to reach out to them and offer appropriate support.❞ - John H.olden, Cleveland Unit for the Reduction of Violence ❝Through the interactions we know that, not only will we begin to see a reduction in the number of young people attending the hospital with injuries, but we will begin to help shape our communities into the safer, peaceful places we all want them to be.❞ - Barney Green, Consultant Vascular Surgeon, James Cook University Hospital ❝One of our biggest success stories is that of those 113 first-time arrests only five have gone on to reoffend. If we’re talking about a measure of success, I would like to say a lower than 5% reoffending rate is a positive we can build up.❞ - John Holden, Cleveland Unit for the Reduction of Violence ❝We aren’t just looking at the problems. We find out why they happened in the first place – and what individuals and communities need to resolve them.❞ - John Holden, Cleveland Unit for the Reduction of Violence [SUBSCRIBER ARTICLE] https://lnkd.in/eZDAe9TB #lawenforcement #policing #police #crime #violence #publichealth #violencereduction #victims Cleveland Police (UK) NHS England

On Tuesday, June 25, Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, issued a sobering advisory highlighting a critical public health crisis: gun violence has become the leading cause of death among children and adolescents. This alarming statistic underscores the urgent need for comprehensive measures to address the root causes of gun violence and to protect the nation’s youth. The advisory calls for a multifaceted approach, including improved mental health services, stricter gun control laws, community engagement, and educational programs aimed at preventing violence. Dr. Murthy’s advisory emphasizes the devastating impact that gun violence has on families and communities, urging policymakers, healthcare providers, and educators to collaborate in creating safer environments for children. He points out that while policy interventions are essential, community-based initiatives that foster resilience and provide support systems for at-risk youth are equally crucial. By focusing on prevention and early intervention, it is possible to reduce incidents of gun violence and mitigate its effects on young lives. The advisory also highlights the role of research and data in combating gun violence. Dr. Murthy advocates for increased funding for studies that explore the causes and consequences of gun violence, as well as the effectiveness of various prevention strategies. By leveraging data-driven insights, policymakers can make informed decisions that prioritize the safety and well-being of children and adolescents. Through a united effort, it is hoped that the nation can turn the tide on this tragic epidemic and ensure a safer future for the younger generation. #gunviolenceawareness #gangs #intervention #awareness

Kudos to our Chair, Rinad Beidas, PhD, on her work in "Long-term consequences of youth exposure to firearm injury," which was cited in an article about firearm violence in Northwestern Now. https://lnkd.in/guKAep3z

👏 We applaud Commissioner Manisha Juthani and the Connecticut Department of Public Health for declaring community violence as a #publichealth issue. 📊 According to our recently released report, CT’s Unspoken Crisis: Getting Young People Back On Track, there is a high overlap of young people considered at risk of interactions with the #JusticeSystem or exposure to #CommunityViolence with the young people who have experienced #disconnection or are at risk of experiencing disconnection from #education or the #workforce. 💬 From Commissioner Juthani: “When you take a problem and view it through a public health lens, you actually are taking data and looking at interventions that show that the evidence base shows that it works. And then funding things accordingly. And then evaluating it.” Similarly, the legislature has recently funded, through CT’s Judicial Branch, Court Support Services Division, programs throughout Connecticut working in community #ViolencePrevention and #ViolenceIntervention. Link to story: https://lnkd.in/ektwdZpw

Today the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy has issued a landmark Surgeon General’s Advisory on Firearm Violence, declaring firearm violence in America to be a public health crisis. The report focuses on the essential need for community violence prevention programs, firearm risk reduction strategies, improving mental health care for those at risk of using violence, and expanding research funding for prevention strategies. Access to firearms by people who use abusive and controlling behaviors have devastating impacts. Firearms are used in about 50% of all IPV-related homicides. In 2021, the proportion of homicides attributable to IPV was five times higher for female victims as compared to male victims. An analysis of mass shootings between 2014-2019 found that most incidents were associated with domestic violence (59%), which was defined as at least one victim being a dating partner or family member of the perpetrator, and that domestic violence-related mass shootings had higher average case fatality rates than those unrelated to domestic violence (84% vs 63%). Declaring firearm violence a public health crisis is a step in the right direction to creating communities where everyone feels safe.

Last month the Global Law Enforcement and Public Health Association (GLEPHA) published a series of reports as part of the ‘Envisaging the future of policing and public health’ project, covering a range of topics including harm reduction, diversion, and policing mental health; in the fourth in a series of seven articles, Policing Insight’s Thomas James looks at GLEPHA’s report on violence prevention programmes and police partnership from England, Iraq, Mexico and Fiji. ❝These programmes focus on building community-policing partnerships, strengthening the community’s trust in police, integrating trauma-informed approaches to policing practice, and providing access to justice and human rights training for police officers.❞ - GLEPHA report ❝There are now 20 Violence Prevention Units across England and Wales which work across statutory and third sector agencies and government departments, and a Trauma Prevention Network across all 43 police areas.❞ - Case Study 1: A system-wide approach to trauma informed practice in Lancashire, England ❝Trust between the community and the police is built through Community Police Officers – drawn mainly from the communities they serve – who develop public confidence and foster community relationships.❞ - Case Study 2: Community engagement and policing program in Iraq ❝Police who previously saw their role as ‘strong enforcers of the law who have to chase criminals’ changed over time to view their role as ‘protectors’ who must gain and retain the trust of communities.❞ - Case Study 3: Building effective, resilient and trusted police organisations in Mexico ❝The project has successfully advocated for the police to make a clear statement outlining their new obligations to address gender-based and family violence; the Fiji Police Force have also established a Sexual Offences Unit and adopted gender responsive budgeting.❞ - Case Study 4: Justice and human rights training for police in Fiji [SUBSCRIBER ARTICLE] https://lnkd.in/esEzwSkb #lawenforcement #policing #police #publichealth #mentalhealth #violenceprevention