By Marty Bonick, president & CEO of Ardent Health
As places of healing, our nation’s hospitals are built on a promise to do no harm. We implement systems to prevent “never events” — serious incidents that should never occur when proper procedures and safeguards are in place. When failures do happen, we study them closely and make changes to prevent them from recurring.
Yet outside our walls, we face a growing, deadly and entirely avoidable epidemic: firearm violence. As healthcare providers, we see its consequences every day — in our emergency departments, trauma bays and intensive care units. Some incidents make headlines. Many do not. But the toll they take on our communities is undeniable.
Firearms are now the leading cause of death among children and teens ages 1–17 in the U.S. According to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, about one-third of children live in a home with a firearm, and more than half of those firearms are not stored securely. Over 70% of children have reported knowing where their parents’ firearm is kept. The result is tragic: an estimated eight children are accidentally injured or killed every day with a firearm — incidents that often involve improperly stored guns in the home.
At the same time, suicide deaths involving firearms are rising across nearly every demographic, reaching a near-record high. Most gun deaths are suicides, and these tragedies often occur in moments of crisis, when easy access to a firearm turns a temporary struggle into a permanent loss. These are warning signs of a growing public health emergency we cannot ignore.
Sadly, healthcare workers aren’t just witnesses — they’re increasingly targets. Clinicians and staff are five times more likely than workers in other industries to experience workplace violence, accounting for nearly 75% of nonfatal injuries resulting from on-the-job assaults, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Shootings at hospitals have claimed the lives of physicians, nurses and other caregivers, and they are not isolated incidents. They’re part of a growing trend requiring hospitals to invest more resources into security — resources that should be spent on patient care.
Healthcare leaders cannot solve this problem alone — but we can lead by example. We must treat each of these tragedies as a “never event,” something that should not happen and that we are actively working to prevent. That means talking with patients about safe firearm storage and suicide prevention, just as we discuss seatbelt use, smoking cessation or limiting alcohol consumption.
It means supporting bipartisan efforts to promote responsible firearm ownership like those led by Voices for a Safer Tennessee, a coalition working across party lines to advance firearm safety policies and programs in my home state.
This work also involves advocating for practical policies such as secure storage, background checks and temporary firearm transfers. A temporary transfer policy allows firearms to be transferred — through due process — to a trusted individual or law enforcement during times of crisis, helping to prevent immediate harm.
According to the National Institutes of Health, these measures have been proven to save lives. In states like Connecticut and Indiana, where temporary transfer laws are in place, studies show they can reduce firearm suicide rates by up to 14%.
It also means protecting those who care for others — doctors, nurses and hospital staff — through legislation like the Save Healthcare Workers Act. Recently introduced in the House and Senate, the legislation advances similar protections outlined in 2023’s Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees (SAVE) Act , including federal penalties for those who assault or intimidate hospital workers. Both bills remain in committee.
Firearm violence is a complex issue, but like any public health threat, progress begins when we approach it with the urgency it demands and prioritize evidence-based solutions. Those of us in healthcare leadership must extend the culture of safety we uphold on our campuses to address the threats facing our communities and care teams.
In recognition of Hospitals Against Violence Day on June 6, let’s come together to lead with purpose, compassion and unity. A safer future is possible if we shape it together.