Integrating Health Systems into New York State's Community Violence Intervention Ecosystem

New York established the Office of Gun Violence Prevention (OGVP) in 2021 to coordinate intervention efforts using a public health approach. OGVP’s strategies involve coordinating various Community Violence Intervention (CVI) programs, including the Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) Initiative, the SNUG (gun spelled backwards) Street Outreach Program, and the Crisis Management System. These programs target high-risk individuals and neighborhoods, employing evidence-based interventions through street outreach and credible messengers who have similar lived experiences. Despite these efforts, challenges remain in integrating healthcare systems into the CVI ecosystem, particularly due to limited healthcare system buy-in, expertise in leveraging resources like Medicaid reimbursement, and data accessibility. To address these issues, this project has three key initiatives: expanding firearm injury risk assessments in healthcare settings; increasing Medicaid reimbursement utilization for CVI services; and developing a syndromic surveillance system for real-time monitoring of firearm-related injuries. A multidisciplinary CVIPI team and a Health Systems Task Force will support three initiatives by providing strategic recommendations and fostering collaboration among hospitals, healthcare providers, and community organizations. Initiative 1: Focuses on implementing firearm injury risk assessments in selected hospital systems, facilitated by Firearm Injury Prevention Coordinators. This initiative will train hospital staff to engage patients in conversations about firearm injury risk and provide appropriate interventions. Initiative 2: Aims to build capacity among CVI organizations to utilize Medicaid reimbursement, supported by technical assistance and training from OGVP and designated providers. Initiative 3: Involves establishing a syndromic surveillance system to monitor and analyze real-time data on firearm injuries, enabling timely public health responses and making timely data publicly available. To ensure successful knowledge transfer, OGVP will create a digital repository for CVI data, host workshops and webinars, and develop performance dashboards for internal and public use. These efforts will enhance transparency, facilitate feedback, and promote continuous improvement in New York’s approach to gun violence prevention. These initiatives, backed by robust training and technical assistance, will aim to integrate healthcare systems more effectively into the CVI framework in communities disproportionately impacted by community violence and health inequities, ultimately reducing gun violence and its impact on New York.