Actress and Advocate Julianne Moore, Gov. Chris Christie, Arne Duncan Join Northwell Health’s Sixth Annual Gun Violence Prevention Forum

The Ad Council to unveil national cross-sector campaign to educate parents and physicians around gun violence prevention

Actress and Advocate Julianne Moore, Gov. Chris Christie, Arne Duncan Join Northwell Health’s Sixth Annual Gun Violence Prevention Forum

Matthew Libassi
631-793-5325
mlibassi@northwell.edu

As America wades into a new era of leadership and policy change, gun violence remains the leading cause of death for children and teens in the United States. While firearm-related deaths dropped more than five percent from 2023, there were still nearly 41,000 Americans who died last year from gun-related homicides, suicides and unintentional shootings. To continue to seek solutions, Northwell Health, New York’s largest health system, is once again convening healthcare, government, business and community leaders for its sixth annual Gun Violence Prevention Forum, on February 27 starting at 9 a.m. E.T. The hybrid event will welcome 180 leaders in person in New York City, while others can register to attend the Forum virtually at www.PreventGunViolence.com.

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Northwell Health’s president and CEO Michael J. Dowling will host the health system’s 6th Annual Gun Violence Prevention Forum. (Credit: Northwell Health)

The Forum will be hosted by Michael J. Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell and will feature a half-day program of panel conversations, fireside chats, and breakout roundtable discussions. The agenda will include a special fireside chat with Academy Award-winning actress, mother, and gun violence prevention advocate, Julianne Moore, who will share her unique perspectives on strengthening the movement to end gun violence in America.

“Gun violence is a public health crisis, and we’re not treating it like one. This isn't a political issue; it’s a human issue. How many more lives must be lost before we act?” said Mr. Dowling. “We formed the National Health Care CEO Council to drive solutions. With our network of CEOs, hundreds of clinicians in our Gun Violence Prevention Learning Collaborative, and countless partners like the Ad Council and others, we have the resources and the will to make a real difference. It’s time to hold ourselves accountable and demand results.”

Additionally, the Ad Council, a national nonprofit that convenes partners in advertising, entertainment, media, philanthropy, and tech to help address the most pressing societal issues facing America, will unveil their new national multichannel marketing campaign addressing youth gun violence in the United States. The effort was first announced last year at Northwell’s Gun Violence Prevention Forum, with an initial $10 million seed funded by members of the National Health Care CEO Council on Gun Violence Prevention & Safety. After a year of research, involving parents, clinicians, community members, victims of gun violence, gun owners and gun violence prevention experts, the new campaign will aim to reduce the number of firearm-related injuries and deaths of children and teens in the U.S.

Conversations throughout the day will discuss how the private sector is exploring solutions to address gun violence, ways in which government and policy leaders can seek common ground and identify areas for progress, and how the roles of philanthropic support, social innovation, entrepreneurship, and investment in tools and solutions can highlight where future investment should be directed.

Other notable speakers at this year’s Forum include:

• Chris Christie, 55^th Governor of New Jersey
• Arne Duncan, Former U.S. Secretary of Education; managing partner, Chicago CRED, Emerson Collective
• Will Lee, chief executive officer, ADWEEK
• Julie Morita, MD, president and chief executive officer, The Joyce Foundation
• Priscilla Sims Brown, president and chief executive officer, Amalgamated Bank
• Jadine Chou, partner, PAX Group and former chief of safety and security, Chicago public schools

The Forum will feature an intimate discussion with Amedy Dewey, a 25-year-old survivor of gun violence. Shot in the face by her stepfather on a Michigan highway and left for dead, Amedy suffered severe facial disfigurement, a shattered upper jaw, and the loss of her left eye. She has since undergone over 30 surgeries, including a groundbreaking "Jaw-in-a-Day" procedure at Northwell’s Lenox Hill Hospital. Performed by surgeons David Hirsch, DDS, Brett Miles, MD, and Lawrence Brecht, DDS, the surgery utilized Amedy’s fibula to reconstruct her upper jaw. Amedy continues to recover and is scheduled to receive dental implants and a prosthetic eye in March.

“To make lasting, meaningful change and end senseless gun violence and deaths, we need to address the issue from many different angles,” said Chethan Sathya, MD, director of Northwell’s Center for Gun Violence Prevention and pediatric trauma surgeon. “Through unique partnerships, advocacy, research, and community and frontline education, we will continue working together to make a difference.”

Northwell has led the charge to address gun violence as a public health crisis since 2019. Through Northwell’s Center for Gun Violence Prevention, the health system continues to invest in gun violence research, including screening emergency room patients about their risk of gun violence and whether they have a weapon in their home and if it is stored safely.

In 2020, Northwell created the National Health Care CEO Council on Gun Violence Prevention & Safety, which now includes 58 leaders of some of the nation’s largest health systems and hospitals. During the Forum, CEOs in attendance from Intermountain Health, Hackensack-Meridian Health, Hartford Healthcare, Main Line Health, and The MetroHealth System will reflect on their efforts and outline opportunities they feel the Council can aid in bending the gun violence curb.

For more information about this year’s Gun Violence Prevention Forum program and speakers and to register your virtual attendance, please visit www.PreventGunViolence.com.

About Northwell Health

Northwell Health is New York State’s largest health care provider and private employer, with 21 hospitals, about 900 outpatient facilities and more than 12,000 affiliated physicians. We care for over two million people annually in the New York metro area and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Our 87,000 employees – 18,900 nurses and 4,900 employed doctors, including members of Northwell Health Physician Partners – are working to change health care for the better. We’re making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. We're training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. For information on our more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu and follow us @NorthwellHealth on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.

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