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Hartford Hospital Awarded Grant to Prevent Firearm-Related Injuries

January 23, 2026

Hartford Hospital recently received $100,000 in grant funding from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Gun Violence Research and Education Awards – one of seven organizations nationwide totaling $1.5 million in funding – to prevent, treat and heal firearm-related injuries and repercussions. The 2025 award process drew more than 160 proposals.

Kaiser partners with communities, hospital systems and public health to prevent firearm violence and suicide, advance trauma-informed care and develop sustainable, evidence-based interventions. This funding supports prevention and clinical interventions that reduce the incidence and effects of community firearm violence and firearm suicide.

Through the grant, Hartford Hospital’s acute-care surgery teams, in partnership with local community organizations, will develop a database and evaluate outcomes of its Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program (HVIP) to generate insights that strengthen firearm violence prevention efforts. The database will include details not typically captured in the electronic health record, providing a culturally competent picture of patients to ensure better care delivery.

“We are deeply grateful to Kaiser Permanente for this generous grant, which will allow us to advance critical research and education aimed at preventing gun violence and improving care for those affected by it,” said Cheryl Ficara, RN, MS, President of Hartford Hospital and Senior Vice President of Hartford HealthCare. “This award reflects the incredible dedication of our Hartford Hospital team, whose work in developing trauma-informed care puts the unique needs of our patients at the center of everything we do. This work has a truly profound effect on our community.”

Hartford Hospital’s HVIP, which launched in 2022, provides coordinated care and community support for patients impacted by violence. As part of the City of Hartford HVIP Collaborative, the program works at the intersection of healthcare and community healing to interrupt the cycle of violence.

Hartford Hospital’s multidisciplinary HVIP team engages patients at the bedside following violent injury, offering wraparound services to address immediate safety, long-term recovery and connection to community resources such as mental health care, housing, education and legal advocacy for victims of gun violence, stabbings, assaults and soon domestic violence and human trafficking.