The anger, fear, frustration and heartache caused by the tens of thousands of deaths every year from firearm-related homicides, suicides and accidental shootings have spawned many advocacy groups working tirelessly on behalf of survivors, family members, schools and communities across the nation that have been impacted by gun violence.
In July 2021, Northwell Health President & CEO Michael Dowling and other representatives met with LIFE Camp co-founder Erica Ford, left, and visited the organization’s “peace mobile,” a mobile trauma unit that provides therapeutic wellness, conflict resolution and mediation training services to communities throughout the city that have been impacted by gun violence.
The anger, fear, frustration and heartache caused by the tens of thousands of deaths every year from firearm-related homicides, suicides and accidental shootings have spawned many advocacy groups working tirelessly on behalf of survivors, family members, schools and communities across the nation that have been impacted by gun violence.
Since establishing its Center for Gun Violence Prevention in 2020, Northwell Health has been building relationships with many activists, elected officials, government agencies, medical groups, health care trade associations and individuals pursuing solutions to help curb the ever-increasing number of deaths and injuries from firearms.
Recognizing the important role of hospitals and health systems in building community collaborations to advance equitable, trauma-informed care, and violence intervention and prevention programs, Northwell has developed close ties with the Health Alliance for Violence Intervention (HAVI), with President & CEO Michael Dowling becoming a member of HAVI’s Advancement Council in 2022. For more than a decade, HAVI – led by Fatimah Loren Dreier — has been promoting equity for victims and connecting violence intervention programs through a supportive network that includes 50 members across the US, the United Kingdom and El Salvador.
As part of its efforts to engage health care providers on gun violence prevention, Northwell has also aligned with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering & Medicine, the American Hospital Association, the Greater New York Hospital Association, the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS), as well as media partners such as Modern Healthcare magazine, all of which have hosted webinars, symposiums and educational workshops highlighting public health approaches to address the crisis.
Northwell’s network extends to many gun violence prevention advocates, including local, grassroots organizations such as LIFE Camp Inc., based in Jamaica, Queens. Led by Erica Ford, LIFE Camp has been working to break the cycle of violence in New York City and beyond for three decades by “believing in the power of partnership,” and “championing personal and systemic approaches to conflict resolution.” In July 2021, Mr. Dowling and other Northwell representatives visited LIFE Camp’s “peace mobile,” a mobile trauma unit that provides therapeutic wellness, conflict resolution and mediation training services to communities throughout the city that have been impacted by gun violence. Later in 2021, Northwell donated an ambulance to LIFE Camp and offers the services of its own community health professionals to provide health screenings, vaccinations and other outreach.
The 2022 South by Southwest featured a session entitled, “A Real Public Health Epidemic? Gun Violence.” Panelists were, from left, activist Fred Guttenberg, Dr. Chethan Sathya, director of Northwell’s Center for Gun Violence Prevention; Peter Ambler, executive director and co-founder of Giffords; and former US Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who survived a 2011 assassination attempt.
Everytown for Gun Safety has also served as an important resource for Northwell in its efforts to build a coalition of support among health systems and hospitals nationwide to recognize gun violence as a public health crisis that demands action and advocacy on the part of the $4.1 trillion health care industry. Everytown’s evidence-based solutions serve as a blueprint for keeping communities safe and guns out of schools, while promoting responsible gun ownership and policy reforms aimed at keeping guns out of the wrong hands and prohibiting the sale of assault weapons and dangerous hardware.
Northwell representatives, including Mr. Dowling, have also had the pleasure of working closely with Gabrielle Giffords, a former US House member from Arizona who sustained severe brain injury in a 2011 assassination attempt at a constituent event outside of Tucson that led to the death of six other people. While still in recovery a decade later, Ms. Giffords founded and continues to lead the gun violence prevention organization Giffords, inspiring countless Americans to fight for a safer America, free from gun violence.
Another critically important partner and influential advocate in the fight against gun violence has been Brady United, one of the oldest gun violence prevention groups. It was founded by President Ronald Reagan’s press secretary Jim Brady, who was shot in the head during an assassination attempt on the president. His head injuries left him partially paralyzed until his death in 2014. Brady United presented its Brady Action Award to Mr. Dowling and Northwell in April 2021 for “their commitment to addressing gun violence prevention as an integral part of their corporate purpose.”
Over the past several years, Northwell has also worked closely with Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter Jaime was killed along with 16 others during the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. A nationally known activist, Mr. Guttenberg recently joined Brady as a senior advisor.
Scott Beigel was another victim of the Stoneman Douglas shootings. A geography teacher and cross-country coach, the Long Island native was shot and killed after unlocking his classroom door to let in students fleeing from the gunman. Northwell has developed relationships with Scott’s parents, Linda and Michael Schulman, and the Scott J. Beigel Memorial Fund, which supports a summer camp for children touched by gun violence.
The trauma of gun violence weighs heavily on not only those who have survived shootings, but obviously family members, friends and coworkers who have lost loved ones. Following the death of their daughter, Jessica Redfield Ghawi, and 11 others in the Aurora, CO theater mass shooting in 2012, Sandy and Lonnie Phillips tunneled their grief into creating “Survivors Empowered.” Among other things, the organization connects survivors with a support network, and mobilizes rapid response teams to visit communities, families and individuals impacted by violence.