Violence prevention on WIHI

Madge Kaplan writes: 

The next WIHI broadcast — Violence Prevention and Community Health — will take place on Thursday, January 16, from 2 to 3 PM ET, and I hope you'll tune in.

Our guests will include:

• Gilbert Salinas, MPA, Director of Patient and Community Relations, Rancho los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, Kaiser Safety Net Fellow, Institute for Healthcare Improvement
• Thea James, MD, Emergency Medicine, Boston Medical Center; Director, Violence Intervention Advocacy Program
• Rachel A. Davis, Managing Director, Prevention Institute
• Kaile Shilling, Coalition Director, Violence Prevention Coalition (Los Angeles)

We’ve just come through a holiday season that’s bittersweet for some — including families that have lost a loved one because of gun violence. Some incidents garner headlines more than others, due to the sheer magnitude of what’s transpired, the ages of the victims, the incredible shock to an otherwise quiet day in a quiet neighborhood, and the tragic consequences. For those in the trenches of working to reduce gun violence day to day — more often in communities and in health care systems all too familiar with gun-related deaths and injuries — every event stands out and has a story behind it.

How can health care organizations, the very ones that often receive the victims through the doors of their EDs, be more effective partners and leaders further upstream? How can gun violence prevention become part of emerging strategies to encompass and focus on better population health? The January 16, 2014, WIHI: Violence Prevention and Community Health is going to highlight some exemplar thinking and initiatives now gaining traction, that everyone can learn from.

Rachel Davis and Kaile Shilling each have their finger on the pulse of multiple efforts and coalitions that are right now taking a comprehensive preventive, public, and population health approach to reducing violence of all sorts. Dr. Thea James is responsible for close to a decade’s worth of pioneering work at Boston Medical Center that’s spread nationally, to help youth adopt better responses to high-risk situations, and to help medical staff deliver “trauma-informed care.” Gilbert Salinas, currently a Kaiser Permanente Safety Net Fellow at IHI, has garnered national attention for his work in Los Angeles, and with former Surgeon General David Satcher on a seminal 2001 “Report on Youth Violence.” Gilbert will also discuss a hospital-based intervention program he’s helped nurture, known as “Caught in the Crossfire.”

WIHI host Madge Kaplan knows preventing and reducing gun violence is a huge topic. But the January 16 panelists will offer a lot of great, actionable ideas, and you can help make this show concrete and inspiring as well by sharing your work and experiences. Please tune in!