Downers Grove, Ill. — 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 are joining, 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, and more than a thousand other hospitals, health systems and associations in communicating a public awareness campaign.
“Our goal is to equip people with tools to keep their children safe and healthy,” said Advocate Aurora Health President and CEO Jim Skogsbergh. “We are being very intentional about addressing health equity and tackling gun violence is a key component of that. This includes educating our communities on gun safety and as a result, reducing the number of families impacted by these devastating tragedies."
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.
“Firearm-related injuries are entirely preventable and there are actionable steps that caregivers can take to prevent their child from ending up in the emergency department,” says Dr. Frank Belmonte, chief medical officer at Advocate Children’s Hospital. “These injuries can be fatal or require lengthy recovery minimizing the child’s quality of life.”
To learn more, visit HospitalsUnited.com.
About Hospitals United
Impetus for this and other public service campaigns comes from over 100 healthcare marketing and communications executives representing the nation’s most prominent health systems, children’s hospitals, and hospital and health associations. Meeting regularly for a decade, they share knowledge, experience, best practices and resources, knowing they can accomplish more together. Founded and led by national healthcare leader Rhoda Weiss, Ph.D., the expanded coalition is partnering with Northwell Health, its Senior Vice President Ramon Soto and its Gun Violence Prevention Learning Collaborative for Hospitals and Health Systems for this effort. Many participants are also forming regional coalitions to offer messages of prevention and safety, hope and healing.
About Advocate Aurora Health
Advocate Aurora Health is one of the 12 largest not-for-profit, integrated health systems in the United States and a leading employer in the Midwest with 75,000 employees, including more than 22,000 nurses and the region’s largest employed medical staff and home health organization. A national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care, the system serves nearly 3 million patients annually in Illinois and Wisconsin across more than 500 sites of care. Advocate Aurora is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies and is nationally recognized for its expertise in cardiology, neurosciences, oncology and pediatrics. The organization contributed $2.5 billion in charitable care and services to its communities in 2020. We help people live well.