The LOCS program was piloted in four areas at VUH.
Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt has led the charge in firearm safety efforts.
In 2024, the hospital launched Locks for Children’s Safety — an initiative to provide free gun locks to promote child injury prevention. More than 13,000 gun locks have been distributed.
Rachel Appelbaum, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery at Vanderbilt University Hospital (VUH), took notice.
“We launched our program, Locks for Community Safety (LOCS), on June 10 at four pilot locations,” said Appelbaum. “It’s a grassroots effort to provide gun locks to patients and family members to expand safety measures and safe gun storage to the community.
“The violence prevention space at VUH is definitely an area we hope to develop further, and this is a stepping stone in our efforts.”
VUH trauma teams report that 13% of their trauma population has penetrating injuries, which include injuries related to firearms, equating to hundreds of victims per year.
“As a trauma center, we provide incredible clinical care for these patients,” said Appelbaum. “While we want to support healing from the acute event, we also want to prevent future injuries. We see the need for additional ways to help our patients and their families. Ultimately, we want to provide support and assist victims of violence so that they don’t feel like they are fighting alone.”
The locks are sourced from a variety of state agencies through partnerships with Monroe Carell.
The LOCS program was piloted in four areas at VUH:
- Trauma ICU waiting, Critical Care Tower eighth floor
- Trauma floor, 8 South VUH
- Trauma clinic, 1660 The Vanderbilt Clinic
- Emergency department discharge lounge
Since launching the program, 100 locks have been distributed.
On June 4, in honor of National Gun Violence Awareness Day, the Monroe Carell and VUH teams collaborated during an event on the Main Campus Plaza to raise awareness about gun safety. They distributed 150 gun locks to employees and visitors.
“This program and other violence prevention efforts can have a significant impact,” said Appelbaum. “We care about our community and want to improve the health and safety of everyone.”
LOCS team members working alongside Appelbaum are Glen Nadig, CCP; Cathy Wilson, MSN, ACNP-BC; Christopher Brown, MS, CCP, TP-C; Teresa Hobt-Bingham, MSN, RN, NE-BC; and Stephan Russ, MD, MPH.
The hospital-based violence intervention program development team members include Appelbaum; Jill Streams, MD, Assistant Professor of Surgery; Robel Beyene, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery; Katrina Gipson, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Clinical Emergency Medicine; Katie McKay, MD, fellow in General Surgery; David Xiao, MD, MPH, resident in General Surgery; and Trauma/ED social workers.
