East Montgomery Times

The Gun Safety Program at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) began with an observation by two pediatric trainees. During their rotations in the Emergency Department, they noticed staff advising families on safe firearm storage and distributing gun locks.

These trainees approached Dr. Dorothy R. Novick, an attending physician at CHOP Primary Care, South Philadelphia, and a practice-based scholar for the Center for Violence Prevention (CVP), about initiating a similar program in South Philadelphia. The idea was to provide information in exam rooms that could help reduce unintentional shootings and suicides.

Dr. Novick collaborated with Dr. Joel A. Fein, senior advisor for advocacy and health policy in the ED and co-director of CVP. They implemented a prompt in patients' electronic records to remind staff to inquire about firearms during patient well visits. While discussions about guns have been part of patient assessments in emergency and behavioral health visits for years, this marked the beginning of standardized assessments during well visits at CHOP.

The Philadelphia Sheriff’s Department contributed 500 free gun locks, which were distributed along with educational materials to three CHOP primary care practices. Leaders trained staff on how to incorporate sensitive conversations about gun access into general safety discussions with families. Within two months, all 500 locks had been distributed.

To sustain and expand this initiative, program leaders sought funding from other groups within CHOP and the community to purchase additional locks, aiming to offer them to more families across more CHOP locations. Since 2020, nearly 5,000 gun locks have been distributed as the program has grown significantly.

“What makes CHOP’s program unique is the wide range of clinical care settings it encompasses — from inpatient care units to primary care practices,” said Dr. Novick. “We are working to normalize gun safety as an integral aspect of pediatric care.”

With support from Program Manager Kimberly Sterner-Stein, MSW, MPH, Drs. Novick and Fein are testing and refining gun safety interventions across various settings within CHOP’s Care Network.

“Our goal is to create a program that is standardized and rooted in best practices yet flexible enough to be impactful anywhere families seek care at CHOP,” added Dr. Fein. The program aims to broaden its reach but requires sustainable funding from donors.

A short video highlighting CHOP's efforts in preventing gun violence is available for viewing.