The U.S. Surgeon General declared gun violence a public health crisis in June of this year, and he encouraged health systems to facilitate education on safe and secure gun storage. Today, L.A. Care Health Plan, the largest publicly operated health plan in the country, is proud to host a virtual Continuing Medical Education (CME) course titled Promoting Safe Firearm Storage in Primary Care. Attendees will learn about firearm storage, specific actions clinicians can take to end gun violence, and risk factors for youth suicide and intervention strategies.
This CME course is part of L.A. Care’s Health Equity and Disparities Mitigation Plan, which includes an objective of promoting gun violence prevention education and amplifying L.A. County’s firearm safety training for clinicians. The health plan has done this in a variety of ways. Among them, in 2022, L.A. Care’s Board of Governors unanimously approved a resolution on gun safety legislation. The health plan also collaborated earlier this year with the L.A. County Medical Association and the L.A. County Department of Public Health on a gun safety billboard campaign, which included distribution of free gun locks at various events. L.A. Care also hosted a gun violence survivor panel at the L.A. Care and Blue Shield Promise Community Resource Center in Lynwood.
This is the second year in a row that L.A. Care is hosting a gun safety training for clinicians. Presenters at today’s CME event are Robert Riewerts, MD, a Clinical Associate Professor of Family Medicine at Keck Medicine of USC, and Robert Schentrup, the Organization Manager for Team ENOUGH under Brady United.
All of these efforts are part of L.A. Care’s commitment to advancing health equity, ensuring everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as health as possible.
Today’s webinar is 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm. You can register here.