9 hours ago
Medical schools training providers to promote gun safety
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — The U.S. Surgeon General declared gun violence a public health crisis in the United States in June of last year. In response to this — as well as the Tops mass shooting — the Jacobs School of Medicine at the University at Buffalo hosted a conference Saturday focused on reducing firearm-related deaths through public health initiatives.
The 'Remembrance Conference' brought together healthcare professionals, students, educators and community members to explore the physician's role in preventing gun violence. Now in its third year, the event was co-founded by Dr. Allison Brashear, dean of UB's Jacobs School of Medicine, and Dr. Aron Sousa, dean of Michigan State University's College of Human Medicine.
Both leaders were motivated to act following mass shootings that deeply affected their communities — the 2022 racist attack at a Tops supermarket in Buffalo, and the 2023 shooting on the Michigan State campus in East Lansing.
'The victims of gun violence and their families are a significant part of this crisis, but also it is about the people who take care of the patients and their families,' Brashear said.
Speakers at the conference encouraged physicians to discuss gun safety with patients during routine medical visits, likening it to other preventive health conversations such as smoking or mental health screening.
'It turns out that talking to your physician is a really important part of public health,' Sousa said. 'We can successfully encourage people to quit smoking, and we can encourage people to store their guns safely at home.'
The conference covered a wide range of topics, including suicide prevention, mental health, advocacy training and the healthcare system's broader responsibility in reducing gun-related injuries and deaths.
'You can work on laws and public policy, but you can also work on how doctors and the whole healthcare team respond, both after there's been a crisis and before,' Brashear said.
Dr. Rob Gore, a Brooklyn emergency medicine physician, UB graduate, and author of 'Treating Violence: An Emergency Room Doctor Takes on a Deadly American Epidemic,' said physicians must be more than just responders.
'Part of the work in practicing medicine is not just treating a patient's physical injuries,' Gore said. 'It's about preventing them from becoming patients in the first place.'
Organizers stressed that while mass shootings draw the most attention, they account for only about 1% of gun-related incidents in the U.S. The majority involve domestic violence, suicides, accidental discharges, and improperly secured firearms.
Brashear noted that gun violence is now the leading cause of death among teens and young children in the country, reinforcing the need for a healthcare-led approach to prevention.
Dillon Morello is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has been part of the News 4 team since September of 2023. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter.
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