The HAVI to Co-Lead Kaiser Permanente’s Center for Gun Violence Research and Education

New Partnership Kicks off as Kaiser Permanente Commits $25 Million to Expand the Center’s Work to Support Hospital- And Community-Based Research and Programs

January 26, 2023 — Kaiser Permanente, the nation’s largest integrated, nonprofit health care provider, is expanding its work to address the causes and health consequences of gun violence with a $25 million commitment to its recently established Center for Gun Violence Research and Education—marking the single-largest investment in gun violence research and education by the health care sector. This investment will further enable the center to address the public health crisis of gun violence through care innovation, research, education, and partnership.

As part of this commitment, Kaiser Permanente is announcing a new partnership with the Health Alliance for Violence Intervention (the HAVI) to help coordinate the work of the Center for Gun Violence Research and Education. The HAVI, a fiscally sponsored program of Health Resources in Action (HRiA), is dedicated to fostering hospital-community partnerships that support the development of hospital-based violence intervention programs, which provide trauma-informed care and address the social determinants of health for victims of firearm injury.

“The HAVI is thrilled to partner with Kaiser Permanente to co-lead the Center for Gun Violence Research and Education,” said Fatimah Loren Dreier, executive director of the Health Alliance for Violence Intervention. “We seek to lead a center that authentically engages institutional and community partners to conduct rigorous science and implement evidence-informed, health-based strategies that effectively address the brutal epidemic of violence. Through this partnership, we will advance a powerful vision for racial equity that centers the wisdom and ingenuity of communities of color.”

Firearms recently became the leading cause of injury and death among children and young adults in the United States, surpassing motor vehicle accidents. In the aftermath of gun violence and suicide, the resulting trauma has devastating short- and long-term impacts on the mental and physical health of survivors, making this among the most urgent public health crises facing our country.

“As the leading health care organization serving the health needs of more than 12 million people in America, Kaiser Permanente is compelled to find and implement solutions to gun violence,” said Greg A. Adams, Kaiser Permanente chair and chief executive officer. “While our teams treat the physical wounds, the disabilities, and the psychological aftermath of gun violence on a daily basis, the best possible outcome of our work would be to learn how to prevent gun-related injuries in the first place.”

Kaiser Permanente’s $25 million commitment will extend over 5 years. It will allow the center to expand and scale its prevention research efforts, innovative public and professional education programs, and evidence-backed community initiatives. This includes hospital-based violence intervention programs, which identify patients at risk of repeated violent injury and link them with hospital- and community-based resources that identify and address the underlying risk factors for violence.

“Kaiser Permanente has already seen the promising results of collaborative, community-based support for gun violence prevention, and we know we can take this work even further,” said Bechara Choucair, MD, senior vice president and chief health officer at Kaiser Permanente. “We’re excited about the role HAVI will play in connecting Kaiser Permanente’s clinical focus with its deep expertise in community-based violence prevention as we pursue a healthier future.”

Kaiser Permanente’s partnership with the HAVI marks the next phase of work for the Center for Gun Violence Research and Education. Both organizations share a strong belief that a robust public health approach is an effective way to address gun violence — and that these efforts can provide a pathway for health care leaders, communities, scientists, public health practitioners, and officials to develop and implement a range of strategies that have been shown to work.

HAVI Media Contact: Andrea Maruniak

About the HAVI

Founded in 2009, the HAVI fosters a national network of hospital-community partnerships to support the development of hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPS). HVIPs—which address the social determinants of health for victims of firearm injury—are one component of a comprehensive community violence intervention (CVI) ecosystem. The HAVI serves over 85 cities in the U.S and beyond, providing training and technical assistance, strategic communications and research support, policy development, and opportunities for peer learning. Through its national research and evaluation working group and established partnership with the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma, the HAVI convenes and supports gun violence researchers focused on health-based solutions.

The HAVI is a fiscally sponsored program of Health Resources in Action (HRiA), a non-profit social change organization committed to advancing health and racial equity. HRiA collaborates with clients to create healthy communities through prevention, health promotion, policy, and research. As a fiscal sponsor, HRiA provides project and grant management, strategic communications, research and evaluation, and backbone administrative services to support and sustain a range of public health activities. Since 2020, the HAVI and HRiA have established a partnership based on a shared vision and commitment to advancing health and racial equity through transformative, community-centered approaches. 

About Kaiser Permanente

Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, Kaiser Permanente has a mission to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 12.6 million members in 8 states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal Permanente Medical Group physicians, specialists, and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the-art care delivery, and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education, and the support of community health.