The Center for Violence Prevention at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) announced today the expansion of its firearm safety education and resource distribution program to all 30 primary care centers within the CHOP network. The expansion was made possible through a collaboration with CHOP’s Possibilities Project, ensuring that firearm safety counseling is a routine part of care at all CHOP primary care centers.
In 2019, CVP launched a pilot program in CHOP’s Emergency Department (ED) to prioritize firearm safety in routine patient care. This initiative expanded in 2023 to select primary care locations, focusing on educating families about secure firearm storage and distributing free gun locks. The team then developed and tested a pre-visit screener to offer safe firearm storage resources to families before well-child visits. Families embraced the screening process, paving the way for the pre-visit screener's introduction throughout the CHOP Primary Care Network.
The comprehensive Firearm Safety in Clinical Care Initiative, which has since expanded across the institution and is supported by pediatricians, nurse practitioners, mental health providers, and staff, has distributed over 13,000 free gun locks, averaging 580 per month in the past year.
“We are profoundly grateful to the families and the Care Network sites who tried the pre-screener for gun violence prevention counseling and provided such valuable insight,” said Dorothy Novick, M.D., a pediatrician at CHOP’s South Philadelphia Primary Care Center and director of the Center for Violence Prevention’s Gun Safety Program. “Through our research we learned that families felt comfortable with the pre-visit screener and discussions around safe firearm storage with clinicians and this was very helpful in our decision to roll out this important program to our entire network.”
The initiative consists of several key components:
- Screening and documentation tools that are built into electronic health record templates.
- Gun locks and patient education materials offered at CHOP’s Emergency Departments, subspecialty practices, security hubs, select inpatient areas, the Safety Center, and Primary Care Centers.
- Resources offered to families at over 90% of eligible encounters.
- An educational session for healthcare providers that helps fill knowledge gaps and offers practical tips for talking with families.
For more information, visit the Gun Safety Program.
Featured in this article
Research
The Center for Violence Prevention at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) announced today the expansion of its firearm safety education and resource distribution program to all 30 primary care centers within the CHOP network. The expansion was made possible through a collaboration with CHOP’s Possibilities Project, ensuring that firearm safety counseling is a routine part of care at all CHOP primary care centers.
In 2019, CVP launched a pilot program in CHOP’s Emergency Department (ED) to prioritize firearm safety in routine patient care. This initiative expanded in 2023 to select primary care locations, focusing on educating families about secure firearm storage and distributing free gun locks. The team then developed and tested a pre-visit screener to offer safe firearm storage resources to families before well-child visits. Families embraced the screening process, paving the way for the pre-visit screener's introduction throughout the CHOP Primary Care Network.
The comprehensive Firearm Safety in Clinical Care Initiative, which has since expanded across the institution and is supported by pediatricians, nurse practitioners, mental health providers, and staff, has distributed over 13,000 free gun locks, averaging 580 per month in the past year.
“We are profoundly grateful to the families and the Care Network sites who tried the pre-screener for gun violence prevention counseling and provided such valuable insight,” said Dorothy Novick, M.D., a pediatrician at CHOP’s South Philadelphia Primary Care Center and director of the Center for Violence Prevention’s Gun Safety Program. “Through our research we learned that families felt comfortable with the pre-visit screener and discussions around safe firearm storage with clinicians and this was very helpful in our decision to roll out this important program to our entire network.”
The initiative consists of several key components:
- Screening and documentation tools that are built into electronic health record templates.
- Gun locks and patient education materials offered at CHOP’s Emergency Departments, subspecialty practices, security hubs, select inpatient areas, the Safety Center, and Primary Care Centers.
- Resources offered to families at over 90% of eligible encounters.
- An educational session for healthcare providers that helps fill knowledge gaps and offers practical tips for talking with families.
For more information, visit the Gun Safety Program.
Contact us
Joey McCool Ryan