NEW HYDE PARK, N.Y.– Since the start of the year, there have been over 70 mass shootings – more than one a day – and thousands of other firearm deaths. To mobilize efforts and prevent more senseless acts of gun violence, business executives, clinicians, researchers, policymakers and those affected by gun deaths are coming together to take part in Northwell Health’s fourth annual Gun Violence Prevention Forum on February 28 starting at 9 a.m. E.T. The hybrid event will welcome 100 leaders in person in New York City and others can register to attend the Forum virtually at www.PreventGunViolence.com.
Hosted by Michael Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health, New York State’s largest health system, the day’s events will feature panel conversations, one-on-one discussions and special breakout working sessions. To help frame gun violence as a public health crisis, an interview will take place between Vivek Murthy, MD, the U.S. Surgeon General, and Chethan Sathya, MD, director of Northwell’s Center for Gun Violence Prevention.
Convening for the first time in person will be members of the newly created National Health Care CEO Council on Gun Violence Prevention & Safety, which includes nearly 50 leaders of some of the nation’s largest health systems and hospitals. Council members have pledged to leverage their collective influence and resources to curb the historic spike in gun-related deaths and injuries by supporting public education and awareness campaigns, working with local violence intervention groups and pursuing research and other initiatives to make their communities safer. The CEOs or their appointed C-suite representatives planning to attend include those from Kaiser Permanente, CA; University of Pennsylvania Health System, PA; OhioHealth, OH; MedStar Health, MD; Johns Hopkins Health System, MD; Renown Health, NV; Children’s National Hospital, Washington, DC; Tufts Medicine, MA; NYC Health + Hospitals, NY; NorthShore-Edward Elmhurst Health, IL.
“Gun violence is a public health crisis. The responsibility falls on the shoulders of the decision makers of our nation’s health systems and hospitals to change the narrative on gun safety and pursue solutions that will make a meaningful difference,” said Mr. Dowling. “Through collaborations like this Forum, the CEO Council, the Gun Violence Prevention Learning Collaborative for Hospitals & Health Systems and other joint efforts, we can create an actionable roadmap to reduce unintentional gun deaths and gun-related homicides and suicides.”
Other notable speakers at this year’s Forum include:
- Chris Murphy, U.S. Senator of Connecticut
- Steven Dettelbach, director, federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
- Victor J. Dzau, MD, president, National Academy of Medicine
- Chris Jones, PharmD, DrPH, MPH, CAPT, U.S. Public Health Service; director, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Roseanna Ander, founding executive director, Crime Lab and Education Lab, University of Chicago Urban Labs
- Amy Solomon, principal deputy assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs
- Nicole Hockley, co-founder and CEO, Sandy Hook Promise
- Shawn Brown, executive director, Youth Guidance Boston
- Jazmin Cazares, activist and sister of Uvalde, TX, shooting victim
Guns are now the leading cause of death among children and adolescents. Addressing the power of community education, Ramon Soto, Northwell’s senior vice president and chief marketing and communications officer, will host a discussion featuring leaders of the Ad Council and Project Unloaded around the best practices and effectiveness of public awareness and education.
Mr. Soto will highlight Northwell’s recent multimedia national awareness campaign, “Doesn’t kill to ask,” which has been supported by more than 1,000 hospitals, health systems and associations across the country. Since the start of the awareness campaign in September 2022, parents who have seen the ads are three times more likely to ask fellow parents if there is a gun in the home.
“In just the past few years, there has been a dire uptick in the number of children we’ve had to treat with gunshot wounds,” said Chethan Sathya, MD, a pediatric trauma surgeon at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, NY, and director of Northwell’s Center for Gun Violence Prevention. “It will take a collective effort to incorporate research, community outreach and new policies to spark change and curb gun access and violence that continues to be a danger to our youth.”
Since 2019, Northwell Health has been leading the charge to address gun violence as a public health crisis. Through Northwell’s Center for Gun Violence Prevention, the health system continues to invest in gun violence research, including screening emergency room patients about their risk of gun violence and whether they have a weapon in their home and if it is stored safely.
Continuing the much-needed gun violence prevention conversation, Dr. Sathya will speak at South by Southwest (SXSW) on March 11, the annual Austin, TX, conference and festival that brings together international experts and thought leaders from across industries. Dr. Sathya’s panel will feature former U.S. Representative Chris Jacobs (R-NY), who opted against seeking reelection after backlash he received by supporting gun safety legislation following last year’s mass shooting at a Buffalo, NY, grocery store; and Jazmin Cazares, who lost her sister in the Uvalde, TX, mass school shooting. Titled “Both Sides Now: Gun Control’s Bipartisan Future,” the panel will be moderated by CNN’s S.E. Cupp.
