New National Council of Clinicians to Advise on Gun Violence Prevention Solutions

The This Is Our Lane National Advisory Council Will Be Chaired By Brady Board Chair & Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joseph V. Sakran, A Gun Violence Survivor, Trauma Surgeon, And Renowned Researcher On Gun Violence Prevention

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2024 – Brady, the nation’s oldest gun violence prevention organization, has announced a new advisory council of healthcare professionals tackling firearm violence using a public health approach. The council will guide Brady’s This Is Our Lane initiative, a grassroots movement empowering healthcare professionals with the training, knowledge, and skills to care for patients at the bedside and beyond, advocate for data-driven solutions, and increase public safety by promoting responsible firearm ownership.

“In 2018 the NRA told clinicians to ‘stay in their lane’, and we let them know: This Is Our Lane,” said Brady Chief Medical Officer Dr. Joseph V. Sakran. “When I was shot as a teenager, I chose to dedicate my life to healing others. That decision led me to become a trauma surgeon and currently the Executive Vice Chair of Surgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital and a leader in the gun violence prevention movement. My duty to free America from this epidemic goes beyond stitches and surgeries; it’s about prescribing the best medicine: prevention.”

Brady’s This Is Our Lane Advisory Council launches with five key objectives, including goals to substantially increase federal funding for research on firearm violence prevention, encourage the Office of the Surgeon General to issue a report on firearms violence prevention, and ensure the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services declares firearm violence as a public health crisis. This Gun Violence Awareness Month, the council is set to release a much-needed, research-based guide for training healthcare professionals on how to talk to their patients about their access to firearms in efforts to reduce firearm injury and suicide.

“Healthcare professionals are on the frontlines of this uniquely American crisis, and we witness the horrors of gun violence in our trauma centers and operating rooms every day. We’re fed up with operating on children with devastating gun-related injuries, telling families they’ll never see their loved ones again, and accepting the heartbreaking truth that even those we saved will be burdened with lifelong trauma,” continued Sakran. “Changing our nation’s laws alone will not end our gun violence epidemic. We must also change the conversations we have in healthcare settings. This Advisory Council will empower healthcare experts to use our skills to foster a safer culture around firearm use and access and raise our voices to advocate for proven public health solutions.”

Dr. Sakran and members of the advisory council ​​are available for interviews live, via phone, or Zoom. Contact Izzy Olive ([email protected]) for more information.

This Is Our Lane Advisory Council Members:

• Dr. Joseph V. Sakran, MD, MPH, MPA (Chair)

• Dr. Halleh Akbarnia, MD, MPH, FACEP

• Robin Cogan, MEd, RN, NCSN, FNASN, FAAN

• Dr. Rochelle Dicker, MD

• Dr. Cornelia Griggs, MD

• Dr. Babak Sarani, MD, FACS, FCCM

• Dr. Chethan Sathya, MD MSCE

• Dr. Emily Lieberman, MD, FAAP

• Dr. Fabiola Plaza, MD

• Dr. LJ Punch, MD

• Dr. Megan Ranney, MD, MPH, FACEP

• Dr. Randi Smith, MD, MPH

• Dr. Layla Soliman, MD