ST. LOUIS, MO – SSM Health has announced an initiative to reduce preventable firearm injuries by increasing access to free gun locks for the St. Louis region.
SSM Health, with 8 hospitals across the region, will expand access to free gun locks following the success of a program at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital – which began in 2018 and has provided gun locks in its emergency room waiting area.
Gun locks will now be available at all local SSM Health hospital emergency rooms, as well as all local SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Pediatrics clinics and the SSM Health Behavioral Health Urgent Care at SSM Health DePaul Hospital - St. Louis. This initiative begins on Friday, June 2, which is National Gun Violence Awareness Day.
“Unsafe gun storage contributes to the epidemic of homicides, suicides and unintentional shootings plaguing our region, and our country. Studies estimate that more than half of U.S. gun owners are not safely storing firearms,” said Dr. Christopher Blewett, Trauma Medical Director at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital. “At SSM Health, we are called to do what we can to keep people well and out of our emergency departments – and we hope that providing free gun locks, with no questions asked, will help achieve that.”
The gun locks will be placed in baskets in hospital emergency departments and pediatric clinic waiting areas. More than 11,400 locks will be distributed through this initiative, which is funded by the SSM Health Foundation – St. Louis through the Urgent Response Fund and the SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Foundation.
