Firearm safety is a critical public health issue. In 2021, there were 4,613 firearm deaths in Texas, and more than half of the deaths were due to suicide. Firearms are now a leading cause of death among children and teens in Texas. Rates of homicides by firearms have also increased in Texas. This webinar will explore the integration of firearm safety into primary care settings and highlight the role of healthcare professionals in promoting safe firearm practices. Effective firearm safety interventions require a comprehensive and multidisciplinary approach that engages primary care providers, patients, and community leaders.

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand the factors that contribute to firearm injuries in Texas

2. Learn about real-world examples that demonstrate successful integration of firearm safety into clinical practice

3. Discuss prevention and community-level strategies in firearm injury prevention

‍Speakers

Sue Bornstein, MD, MACP, Co-Lead, Texas Primary Care Consortium

A resident of Dallas, Dr. Sue Bornstein is the executive director of the Texas Medical Home Initiative and co-lead of the Texas Primary Care Consortium – a statewide collaborative whose mission is to advance accessible, continuous and coordinated person-centered care for all Texans.Bornstein is the Chair-elect of the American College of Physicians (ACP) representing internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. The Board of Regents is the main policy-making body for the College. She is currently chair of ACP’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and previously served as chair of ACP’s Health and Public Policy Committee and as Governor of the Texas Northern Chapter of ACP. She has been a Fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP) since 2003 and a Master of the American College of Physicians (MACP) since 2022. Bornstein also received the 2021 Primary Care Collaborative Primary Care Community Leadership/Research Award.She received her medical degree from Texas Tech School of Medicine and completed her residency at the Baylor University Medical Center. Some areas of professional interest and expertise for Bornstein include health and public policy, health care access and reform, strengthening the safety net and government relations.

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Daniel D. Guzman, MD, Attending Physician - Emergency Department | Program Director, Firearm Safety Awareness Program·Cook Children's Medical Center

Dr. Daniel Guzman is a pediatric emergency physician at Cook Children’s Medical Center and has been on staff since 2003. In 2017, he started Aim for Safety, a firearm awareness program focused on educating both children and parents on the dangers of having an unsecured and loaded firearm in the home. His goal is to reduce the number of unintentional firearm injuries seen in children that present to the emergency department and to encourage the use of firearm safety devices. Dr. Guzman is passionate about injury prevention and currently holds the position of medical director with The Center for Children’s Health as an advocate for educating the community about all injury prevention topics.Dr. Guzman is also medical director for Cook Children's transport team, Teddy Bear Transport, and provides day-to-day direction and education for the staff. Currently, Dr. Guzman serves on multiple committees at Cook including the hospital quality improvement committee, the trauma improvement committee as Associate Director of ED Trauma services, as well as liaison for the surgical clinical excellence committee. He is an executive member and secretary of the Emergency Physicians Advisory Board that provides medical direction to MEDSTAR and surrounding EMS agencies. He also serves as co-medical director for the North Central Texas Trauma Regional Advisory Council providing direction and development of protocols for the hospitals in the region.  He currently provides education and training for medical students from both TCU School of Medicine and the UNT Health Science Center.  Currently, Dr. Guzman is conducting research on how to improve firearm safety practices in the home. In his free time, he trains with his wife for marathons.

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Emmy Betz, MD, MPH, Professor of Emergency Management & Founding Director of the Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative·University of Colorado School of Medicine

Dr. Emmy Betz, MD, MPH, is an emergency physician and nationally recognized leader in firearm injury prevention and suicide prevention. She is currently a Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, where she is the Founding Director of the Firearm Injury Prevention Initiative.  She oversees a multi-million dollar research portfolio of complex, community-engaged, mixed-methods studies funded by the National Institutes of Health and Department of Defense. Dr. Betz is a recognized national expert in firearm injury prevention and has been invited to work with numerous organizations spanning the civilian to veteran spectrum. Examples include medical organizations (American Medical Association, American College of Surgeons), the American Bar Association, multiple VA workgroups, the Department of Defense Suicide Prevention Office, and White House events or initiatives under the Obama, Trump and Biden administrations. In 2023 she was elected to the National Academy of Medicine.

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This webinar is produced by the Texas Primary Care Consortium with support from Episcopal Health Foundation, St. David’s Foundation, Texas Academy of Family Physicians, and TMF Health Quality Institute.