Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Different Takes: Lessons From Trauma Surgeons On Gun Violence; The Right Discipline For Student Protesters
Philadelphia Inquirer: I'm An ER Doc In Philly. I'm Haunted By The Patients I've Lost To Gun Violence.
A physician goes through a decade of training and multiple background checks before being allowed to prescribe a controlled substance that could be deadly. But in many states, firearms can be purchased in days. A physician prescribes proven and tested treatments, but the same standard is not expected of our lawmakers. Too many ignore the evidence in front of them—refusing to acknowledge that the states with the most gun laws also have the fewest gun deaths. (Gregory Siegel, 3/15)
Cleveland Plain Dealer: 'Organs Are Literally Pulverized' In Assaults With High-Powered Rifles. Ban These Weapons Now.
When Dr. Jeffrey Claridge opens the body of a victim felled by a high-powered rifle, the damage he finds is invariably catastrophic. "It's like a small grenade went off inside," he explained. "Organs are literally pulverized." Few people on the planet speak with more authority on this than Claridge. A trauma surgeon since 2003, since 2009 he has been medical director of MetroHealth's division of trauma, critical care and burns - at one of the nation's elite, Level 1 trauma centers. And Claridge, like anyone with a modicum of common sense, believes there is no justifiable reason to make these assault-style weapons available to the public. (Brent Larkin, 3/15)
Wichita Eagle: Pivot Point: One Wichita Principal Got Wednesday's Student Walkouts Exactly Right
Principal Matt Creasman handled it perfectly. Faced with 200 Northeast Magnet High students leaving classes Wednesday to protest school violence, Creasman’s response to the disruption had three components. Allow students to protest, standing up for their beliefs and honoring students killed across the country. There has to be a penalty for leaving school. "One of the central elements to civil disobedience is understanding that with the act, comes a consequence,” he wrote in a letter to parents. The penalty is perfect: lunch detention, where Creasman will facilitate a discussion about school safety and get students’ input. So Northeast students were allowed to peacefully protest, and their penalty is a chance to voice opinions on their own school’s safety. (Kirk Seminoff, 3/15)
Charlotte Observer: Mass Shootings: The Cause Few People Are Talking About
“We have to talk about mental illness.” Since I’m a therapist, hearing politicians say this should excite me, because it will help expand mental health treatment for all who need it. Right? Wrong. ...Let’s talk instead about the psychological concept of toxic masculinity. Let’s talk about our pushing boys into dominance, suppressing emotions, devaluing women and obsessive self-reliance, often interlinked with violence. (Justin Perry, 3/15)
Philadelphia Inquirer: 'What Happened' Vs. 'What's Wrong': Recognizing How Trauma Impacts Us All
There is a toxin in Philadelphia that our children and families are being exposed to near constantly: trauma. Trauma lingers and isn’t just limited to a single incident, like a gunshot. Trauma manifests in hunger, housing instability, or living without utilities. It can include exposure to abuse, neglect, gun violence, police brutality, imprisonment, and domestic violence. And trauma can pass through generations as the result of historical violence, slavery, redlining, and mass incarceration. Very much like a toxin, the longer it goes unnoticed and untreated, the worse things can get. (Mariana Chilton, 3/15)
Miami Herald: Violent video games and assault weapons can turn into a lethal combination
Following reports that Nikolas Cruz, the Parkland school shooter, played violent video games between eight and 15 hours a day, the spokesman for the Entertainment Software Association has claimed that “numerous authorities and reputable scientific studies have found no connection between games and real-life violence. This is a cynical claim and blatantly untrue. (Patricia Marks Greenfield, 3/15))
