Hospitals can do more than react to gun violence with medical treatment; they can play a pivotal role in preventing it. This is the call to action of a campaign launched last
month by Minnesota's Health Care Coalition on Violence. The campaign is taking its proactive cue from the state's recent gun violence statistics. In 1998, nearly 800 people died,
were hospitalized or treated in emergency departments as a result of gun shot injuries.
The coalition has identified four prevention strategies hospitals can spearhead:
- Train healthcare providers to provide effective gun safety counseling.
- Provide gun safety counseling to patients and their families.
- Collect data on gun injuries and deaths, and their risk factors to identify targeted prevention opportunities.
- Advocate for policies that have potential for reducing gun-related injuries and deaths.
The coalition is comprised of 13 healthcare organizations, including the Allina Health System, Children's Hospitals & Clinics, HealthPartners, Fairview Hospital &
Healthcare Services and the Minnesota Council of Health Plans.
(Health Care Coalition on Violence, 201/369-3467)