Guns are the leading cause of death for kids. Thirteen children die from firearms every day. To help address this crisis and encourage parents to take action by asking about gun safety, Advocate Aurora Health and Advocate Children’s Hospital, Loyola Medicine, NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Health, Northwestern Medicine, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, OSF HealthCare and OSF Children’s Hospital of Illinois, Rush University Medical Center (RUSH), UChicago Medicine and UChicago Medicine Comer Children’s Hospital join 170 other health care organizations representing thousands of hospitals and health systems in a nationwide public awareness and education campaign.
“There has been a surge in new gun owners since the start of the pandemic and it is likely that many of them are not aware that an unsecured gun may put family members at risk of harm. By providing parents knowledge about how to store firearms safely, we can help reduce the number of youth injured or killed with a firearm," said Karen Sheehan, MD, MPH, Medical Director, Patrick M. Magoon Institute for Healthy Communities and attending physician Emergency Medicine.
By asking about safe gun storage, the campaign is meant to help parents and families feel empowered to ask other parents about access to guns. Broadcast, print and digital ads and a website highlight that access to unlocked guns can lead to death, suicide and gun violence, leading to more children dying from guns than cancer or automobile accidents. The website provides tips on how to have a conversation with other parents about safely stored firearms and encourages parents and caregivers to normalize this conversation.
To learn more, visit HospitalsUnited.com.
Original source can be found here.
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