By Francine Pratt
Firearms are the leading cause of death for children ages 1 -19 and adults under age 25. CoxHealth’s data shows they cared for an average of 36 accidental injuries mainly caused by hunting accidents and children playing with firearms. They provided care for an average of three (3) cases a year that required a coroner to provide additional investigation to determine the cause of death. The total annual average of firearm injuries and deaths from 2022 – 2024 was 66 cases. Even though the data is regional, Springfield is the largest city in the region.
CoxHealth is the Level I Trauma Center for Greene County and about 34 other counties in the region. Their work also focuses on other health issues such as infant injury prevention and the geriatric population for preventing falls and other preventative needs. Today we want to focus on firearm injuries and deaths that could be prevented.
According to 2022-2024 data from CoxHealth, the average annual number of cases, by age, for most of the injuries was 7 cases under age 18 and 21 cases for ages 19 – 30. It is ironic, that when the CPO Gun Safety & Violence Reduction Collaborative surveyed 100+ youth and young adults (about a year ago) we asked them, what Springfield can do about gun violence. Their top two answers were: “Parents need to be more responsible with guns, but some parents don’t care” and “Parents need to teach their kids about guns with gun safety courses.”
When a child is going to spend time in someone else’s house, many parents ask if a parent or adult will be home. They may call the adult to ensure adult supervision will be present. They may even ask if alcohol is in the house is it put away? However, how many parents ask if they have firearms safely stored in their house?
I recently spoke with a member of one of the neighborhood associations. The person told me he grew up in a home with a lot of hunting and he has been around guns since he was 10 years old. He stated he never thought about other young people who did not have the same safe keeping of guns the way he did. I also spoke to a young person who asked if we could teach young people about gun safety. He stated someone he knew was holding a Glock and thought it had a safety feature. It did not and the person almost shot their foot. Moms Demand Action created a simple tool to use to remind everyone about gun safety:
CoxHealth is the Level I Trauma Center for Greene County and about 34 other counties in the region. Their work also focuses on other health issues such as infant injury prevention and the geriatric population for preventing falls and other preventative needs. Today we want to focus on firearm injuries and deaths that could be prevented.
According to 2022-2024 data from CoxHealth, the average annual number of cases, by age, for most of the injuries was 7 cases under age 18 and 21 cases for ages 19 – 30. It is ironic, that when the CPO Gun Safety & Violence Reduction Collaborative surveyed 100+ youth and young adults (about a year ago) we asked them, what Springfield can do about gun violence. Their top two answers were: “Parents need to be more responsible with guns, but some parents don’t care” and “Parents need to teach their kids about guns with gun safety courses.”
When a child is going to spend time in someone else’s house, many parents ask if a parent or adult will be home. They may call the adult to ensure adult supervision will be present. They may even ask if alcohol is in the house is it put away? However, how many parents ask if they have firearms safely stored in their house?
I recently spoke with a member of one of the neighborhood associations. The person told me he grew up in a home with a lot of hunting and he has been around guns since he was 10 years old. He stated he never thought about other young people who did not have the same safe keeping of guns the way he did. I also spoke to a young person who asked if we could teach young people about gun safety. He stated someone he knew was holding a Glock and thought it had a safety feature. It did not and the person almost shot their foot. Moms Demand Action created a simple tool to use to remind everyone about gun safety:
- Secure all guns in your home and vehicles.
- Model responsible behavior around guns.
- Ask about the presence of unsecured guns in other homes.
- Recognize the role of guns in suicide.
- Tell your peers about S.M.A.R.T.
CoxHealth has an injury prevention program where they provide free gun locks at every Emergency Room location. A person can obtain a gun lock by visiting the security desk for a free gun lock at the following locations: Cox North, Cox South, Cox Branson, Cox Monett or Cox Barton County. They also provide Kids Health and Safety Fairs and provide information about gun safety. Neighborhood Associations have held several events where gun locks are provided, and information shared about gun safety.
Firearms no longer needed can be turned in to law enforcement. A word of caution though is to leave the firearm in your vehicle, go into the police station and let them know you have a firearm you want to turn in to them. They may come outside with you to get the firearm from you or provide instructions. Gun shows can be another way to turn in a firearm or consignment sales.
The CPO Gun Safety & Violence Reduction Collaborative is developing a website to provide more resources and share what Springfield is doing to increase gun safety and reduce gun violence. The collaborative is chaired by Clay Goddard with Burrel Behavioral Health and Francine Pratt with CPO.
Firearms no longer needed can be turned in to law enforcement. A word of caution though is to leave the firearm in your vehicle, go into the police station and let them know you have a firearm you want to turn in to them. They may come outside with you to get the firearm from you or provide instructions. Gun shows can be another way to turn in a firearm or consignment sales.
The CPO Gun Safety & Violence Reduction Collaborative is developing a website to provide more resources and share what Springfield is doing to increase gun safety and reduce gun violence. The collaborative is chaired by Clay Goddard with Burrel Behavioral Health and Francine Pratt with CPO.
