NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — To mark National Gun Violence Awareness Day, doctors on the trauma team at Vanderbilt University Medical Center wore orange shirts to bring attention to an issue they said is impacting the Nashville community.
"This is a problem that affects us all," said Dr. Jill Streams, assistant professor of Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and the director of the Trauma Performance Improvement Program. "We need to protect our children. We need to protect each other."
Dr. Streams said over the last 10 years, the number of people injured by gun violence in Davidson County has gone up over 200%. She said doctors at Vanderbilt are treating four or five patients a day who are injured due to gun violence.
Dr. Streams said her team has responded to help patients after The Covenant School shooting, the Antioch Waffle House shooting in 2018, and the shooting at the Burnette Chapel Church of Christ in 2017.
She said 14% of patients she treats were injured by gunshots or stabbings.
She said something needs to change before more lives are lost.
"Ideally, I would like to take myself out of business when it comes to gunshots," said Dr. Streams. "We are really good at our jobs, and we take care of these patients. It is hard when they come in with such severe injuries and there isn't anything we can do."
National Gun Violence Awareness Day is held June 2-4. People are encouraged to wear orange to bring attention to the issue. More information on the campaign here: https://wearorange.org/
