Dive Brief:
- Harborview Medical Center in Seattle is testing a new model of care designed to reduce gun violence.
- The program uses the same types of interventions that are used to treat drug and alcohol abuse.
- It began after research showed a correlation between gun-related injuries and future injury or violent crime.
Dive Insight:
Some of the interventions being used under Harborview's new model include maintaining communication with victims of gun-related injuries after discharge, talking with patients about reasons to avoid risky behaviors, analyzing the role guns play in patients' lives with both patients and family members and helping patients to develop conflict resolution strategies.
Harborview's program is timely since workplace violence is on the rise in healthcare organizations; nurses are the ones who are most at risk. In response, some states are creating new laws to guard against violence against healthcare staff. For example, in North Carolina, acts of violence that take place in hospitals are now considered felonies.