Every clinician has a role to play in preventing suicide. Yet most have never been trained to talk about firearms.
In Massachusetts, more than half of firearm deaths are suicides. Healthcare professionals are uniquely positioned to intervene if a patient is in crisis.
This webinar equips frontline clinicians—including physicians, nurses, and social workers—with practical tools and language to start these conversations. Learn how to incorporate firearm safety into routine visits, assess lethality, and recognize when to consider an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO), an important and underutilized option now available to Massachusetts clinicians.
Gun violence is a growing epidemic and medical professionals need to be part of the conversation. Safer communities are built through honest dialogue, and this session will help you find your role — whether at the bedside, in your institution, or as an advocate for your patients and community.
Funding for this webinar is provided by a grant received from the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. Application for social work continuing education credits has been submitted. Please contact us at marketing@samaritanshope.org for the status of social work CE accreditation.
Annie K. Buck, MS
Anne K. Buck, MS, is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Health Law, Policy & Management at the Boston University School of Public Health. Her research sits at the intersection of trauma surgery, public health, and social justice, with a focus on firearm injury prevention and gun policy at both the state and national levels. She serves as the Resident Advocacy Chair for the founding chapter of Socially Responsible Surgery at Boston Medical Center and is completing her dissertation on the expansion of Massachusetts’ red flag laws to include clinician petitioners, a project funded by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. Nationally, she also serves as the Co-Chair of the Student and Early Career Professional Committee for the Society for Advancement of Violence and Injury Research (SAVIR).
Dr. Tracey Dechert, MD FACS
Dr. Hemal Sampat
Moderator:
Kacy C. Maitland LICSW
Kacy C. Maitland is the Chief Clinical Officer at Samaritans, a Massachusetts-based suicide prevention organization. In that role, she oversees all programming, including the 24/7 crisis helpline, youth text line, grief support services for those who have lost loved ones to suicide, and suicide prevention community education. Kacy has over 15 years of experience in the field of mental health. She has practiced as both a trainer and clinician in a variety of settings, including working with those struggling with severe and persistent mental illness, and holds leadership roles with community organizations and government policy advisory groups. Kacy is a Commissioner for the Disabled Persons Protection Commission (DPPC) for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. She has also been an Adjunct Professor of Social Work at Simmons University Graduate School of Social Work and in Sociology at Quincy College.
Tracey A. Dechert, MD, is Chief of Acute Care and Trauma Surgery at Boston Medical Center (BMC). She is also an associate professor of Surgery at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. Appointed Chief in 2022, Dr. Dechert is the first woman to be named Surgical Trauma Chief at a Level 1 adult trauma center in Massachusetts. She is a graduate of Bloomsburg University in Bloomsburg, PA and Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Dechert completed her residency in General Surgery at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, VA and her fellowship in the Department of Traumatology and Surgical Critical Care at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA.