Health system CEOs, 1,300 caregivers ask Congress to support Biden gun violence plan

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With deaths and injuries from shootings spiking nationwide, 18 of the nation's most prominent health system CEOs, and more than 1,300 healthcare professionals, have sent a request to Congressional leaders asking them to support President Biden's plan to invest $5 billion in hospital- and community-based gun violence intervention programs.

The health professionals warned that gun violence poses a public health crisis equal to the COVID-19 pandemic, and requires the same vigorous response. Combined, the CEOs run health systems that employ more than 700,000 healthcare professionals.

The plea from CEOs and caretakers -- which was sent to Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy -- was the result of a grassroots effort led by Michael Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health in New York, Dr. Chethan Sathya, director of Northwell's Center for Gun Violence Prevention, and Dr. Joseph Sakran, a gun violence survivor, trauma surgeon and director of emergency general surgery at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

Together, they're urging support for hospital- and community-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs). These programs enable healthcare professionals to screen non-fatal gunshot patients to identify those at greatest risk for re-injury, and connect them with support services, including trauma-informed care, job training and housing.

WHAT'S THE IMPACT

Many health systems are already taking steps to implement intervention programs. In some cities, as many as 45% of patients with a history of violent injury return with another injury within the next five years, according to Giffords Law Center. But programs dedicated to intervening at that juncture have shown success. An HVIP in Baltimore, for example, saw the injury recidivism rate for patients fall to as low as 5%. 

Utilizing a $1.2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, Northwell Health is screening patients for gun violence risk. Gun owners are counseled about safe firearms practices and high-risk individuals are connected to support services.

The funding request comes as gun violence in America reaches crisis levels. Last year, the U.S. experienced a record 43,559 firearms-related deaths and more than 39,000 additional injuries -- and the nation is on pace this year to surpass that milestone, according to Gun Violence Archive. That's more than the number of Americans who die from high blood pressure, malnutrition, HIV, Parkinson's disease and viral hepatitis. 

Like many of those diseases, gun violence disproportionately impacts communities of color. For example, gun violence is the leading cause of death for young Black men in America -- accounting for more deaths than the next nine leading causes combined.

Many of the signers of the letter to Congressional leaders are already participants in a "Learning Collaborative" established this spring by Northwell's Center for Gun Violence Prevention to share and develop best practices for preventing firearm injury and death.

THE LARGER TREND

A 2017 study from Health Affairs shows firearm-related deaths are the third leading cause of injury-related deaths in the U.S., having killed 36,252 people in 2015 alone, and they also levy a $2.9 billion dollar burden on hospitals annually.

And it's not just hospital charges that mount as a result of firearm deaths and injuries. For those who live through it, there can be physical therapy, in-home care and trauma counseling needs, not to mention lost income. Because of that, authors said their results likely underestimate the true costs of these injuries. Estimates that attempt to take these other burdens into account swell to $45.6 billion in annual financial burdens resulting from firearm injuries.
 

Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: jeff.lagasse@himssmedia.com