By Beth Burger, The Columbus Dispatch
COLUMBUS – A new partnership is handing out lock boxes for guns to Columbus pediatricians in an effort to curb the number of unintentional shootings among young children.
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Parents bringing 2- or 3-year-olds to certain pediatric offices will be asked if guns are kept at home. If so, the parents will be offered a lock box.
The Partnership for Safety of Children Around Firearms includes the Ohio chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Buckeye Firearms Association, Black Wing Shooting Center and Kiwanis Club of Columbus. The pilot program was announced Monday.
Data from Nationwide Children’s Hospital show that 24 children 4 or younger were treated at a hospital for gunshot wounds over a nearly five-year period. It’s unclear how many of them died.
City fire run data show that most gunshot-wound patients 18 or younger are transported from the Linden, South Side and Hilltop neighborhoods.
Clinics in those areas will offer the boxes because data from Nationwide Children’s show that most of the pediatric firearm deaths that doctors saw in the past several years were of children living in high-poverty areas.
The Kiwanis chapter is providing $10,000 to pay for about 500 lock boxes. Buckeye Firearms bought an additional 100.
Doctors say the subject is challenging. Some people don’t like to discuss whether they own guns.
The hope, doctors say, is for gun safety to become a normal part of wellness visits for children.
“You may think you hide (your gun) in a very safe spot, but your kids can find it,” said Dr. Sarah Denny, an emergency-department physician at Nationwide Children’s.