Tony Hsu, MD, is an emergency physician in Ann Arbor, Michigan. As chair of ACEP’s Public Health & Injury Prevention Committee, he led the group assigned to translate aspects of Resolution 32 into ACEP policy. “I don’t think as on duty physicians we should have to deal with our own concerns of penetrating injury. I like to have specialists when I have a trauma patient coming in. I want to have a specialist when somebody else has a firearm and perhaps maybe threatening others,” explained Dr. Hsu. “When we think about violence in the ED, the ones who bring guns into the workplace should be safety personnel … that made me want to update the policy.”
Dr. Phillips
James Phillips, MD, an emergency physician, associate professor, and chief of disaster medicine at George Washington University, served as a tactical physician for a number of years, and is active in ACEP’s sections focused on disaster and tactical medicine. “We still don’t have protections in our emergency departments that we need and for anyone that doubts that, look at the debate we’re having right now that emergency physicians feel that they need to carry weapons to protect themselves,” Dr. Phillips said.
Gun Ownership Among Emergency Physicians
Dr. Gasper
Not all emergency physicians share Dr. Thran’s viewpoint on restricting the carrying of firearms in the ED. A large minority of emergency physicians, 43 percent, own firearms, according to a study published in 2021.9 Among them is Steve Gasper, MD, who currently works in Dallas, Texas, and did an elective in tactical medicine during residency. Before that, Dr. Gasper served as a forward observer and a designated marksman in the U.S. Marine Corps. “I think there’s a tendency to have a boiler plate of, ‘No, [guns are] not allowed. Just call the police,’” Dr. Gasper said. “It’s kind of wishful thinking to say, ‘Well, we’ll just make it a gun-free zone and that’ll solve the problem.’ But that really doesn’t. I mean, most of the mass shootings occur in gun-free areas.”
Dr. Coppola
Marco Coppola, DO, FACEP*, has been in the military for 37 years and is the chief of medical staff at The Colony ER Hospital in The Colony, Texas. “I think every emergency department should have active shooter drills. Just like we practice a disaster drill, every emergency department should do that,” he explained. Dr. Coppola served as chair of the ACEP task force to rewrite the ACEP Firearms and Injury Prevention Policy in 2013. “We thought it was very important not to legislate and not to contradict existing laws. What was interesting is that [at the time] we tried to come up with the most comprehensive firearm policy possible.”
2 Responses to “Firearms and Emergency Department Safety”
August 20, 2022
Robert Hansen“Erect signage and provide for appropriate securing of firearms outside of the ED, designating the ED a ’Firearm-Free Zone”.
Truly one of the most useless ideas ACEP has ever come up with. Does anyone actually think “gun free zone” signs have EVER done anything to deter someone who wishes to cause harm on others? Schools are “gun free zones” and we see how well that works. It’s ridiculous to think that this will do anything to improve the safety of those of us who work in the ED.
August 21, 2022
Mike Magoon MD FACEPHospitals have always been “firearm free zones.” It is illegal to carry a firearm in the hospital – and the ED is part of the hospital. This ACEP policy seems redundant, and unfortunately accomplishes nothing. Evil people have never cared whether there is a sign on the door asking them not to bring weapons.
This policy only makes it more difficult for emergency physicians to carry a side arm, if they feel their welfare could be at risk in a rough ED.