Northwell Health has developed what it calls a “first-of-its-kind” digital toolkit aimed at helping healthcare providers implement gun violence prevention programs across clinical settings.
The new digital toolkit serves as a practical guide for health systems to adapt, implement, and scale strategies at the system, community, clinical, and organizational levels. The health system says it includes nearly 100 strategies.
The guide, developed by Northwell with support from the Joyce Foundation, is “intentionally modular” to show where health systems can have the greatest impact and how to “build a balanced portfolio of interventions over time.”
“As of the writing of this toolkit, firearm injury and death rates are decreasing,” the guide states. “This progress is important. It shows that prevention strategies are working and that health care has a meaningful and growing role to play. Now is the time to accelerate implementation, share lessons learned, and expand implementation across hospitals and health systems across the country.”
The toolkit points out that more than 44,000 people will be killed by firearms in the United States in 2024, an average of 122 people a day, citing wonder data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And firearm deaths remain the leading cause of death for American children and teens.
The New York City-based health system has taken a leading position in gun violence prevention efforts, establishing the Center for Gun Violence Prevention in 2019 and hosting an annual forum on prevention efforts for the past seven years.
At the system’s latest forum, held in early March, speakers emphasized the importance of partnerships and data collection in prevention efforts.
“Gun violence is a public health crisis that requires action from all of us. Health care has a unique responsibility and a platform to lead,” Dr. John DeAngelo, president and CEO of Northwell Health, said in a statement. “Thanks to the team at Northwell Gun Violence Prevention Center and the support of the Joyce Foundation, we are equipping and empowering all of our hospitals and health systems to meaningfully address this crisis in our communities.”
