ABOUT DR. MIKE OTTO:
Dr. Mike Otto is the President of Physicians for the Prevention of Gun Violence. He is a retired physician and a 50-year resident of Washtenaw County.
RESOURCES:
Physicians for the Prevention of Gun Violence (PPGV)
End Gun Violence Michigan on Facebook
End Gun Violence Michigan on X (Twitter)
End Gun Violence Michigan on Instagram
End Gun Violence Michigan on YouTube
TRANSCRIPTION:
Decky Alexander: This is 89.1 WEMU, and welcome to our weekly conversation on equity and opportunity in our county and in our community. I'm your new host, Decky Alexander, and I'm honored to welcome you to this week's edition of Washtenaw United. So, what does it take to heal a community impacted by gun violence? For some local advocates, it starts with an industrial chop saw in a church parking lot, turning dismantled firearms into pieces of art. For others, it's launching a lock-it-up campaign with community centers or pediatric offices that give away free lockboxes to anyone. These grassroots efforts are just part of the story for Physicians for the Prevention of Gun Violence, founded by local doctors who have witnessed the physical and psychological toll of firearm trauma firsthand. The organization works on the front lines of public health education and legislative advocacy. Today, we are sitting down with one of those from the frontline, PPGV board director, Dr. Mike Otto, to talk about the unique power of the physician's voice in this conversation and what it will take to move the needle on gun safety in Michigan. So, welcome Dr. Otto--Mike! Welcome to WEMU!
Dr. Mike Otto: Wow! Thank you, Decky! What a wonderful intro!
Decky Alexander: Thank you! So, tell us a little bit about you and your background and if there was a specific catalyst, maybe a patient you treated or a local event or a moment, that had you finding your way to Physicians for the Prevention of Gun Violence?
Dr. Mike Otto: Yes, I'm glad to! So, I'm a retired physician as the name of my organization might suggest. I retired five years ago. My specialty was infectious diseases. I was based at St. Joe's Hospital, now called Trinity Ann Arbor for over 30 years. And really as a physician and just as a citizen and a dad and a grandfather, I was increasingly concerned over the epidemic of gun violence in this country, seemingly more and more in the news every year, mass shootings, kids being killed, etc. And two representatives of the Physicians for Prevention of Gun Violence, PPGV, came to St. Joe's Hospital and gave a talk to the medical staff. At that time, when I saw the numbers, over 40,000 Americans being killed per year, and, more strikingly, 4,000 kids being killed per year and the fact that, as of five or six years ago, gun violence became the number one killer of kids in the United States ages one to 19. That really grabbed my attention and made me realize I needed to try to do something about this. So, I joined PPGV as a member probably seven or eight years ago. I was very busy with work. I didn't have much time to spend on it. But once I retired, I became a board member after meeting with Jerry Walden, one of the co-founders of PPGV. He convinced me to join the board, and it kind of went from there. And I've been the president of PPGV now for about a year-and-a-half.
Decky Alexander: Amazing, Mike! So, I guess, from your perspective, I believe, what gives you a unique authority or voice do you think physicians bring to the table when talking to lawmakers and the public?
Dr. Mike Otto: Yes, I think a lot of us have seen the direct effects of gun violence in patients coming into the hospital--survivors of gun violence. We've all met patients or a family of patients who are survivors of having lost loved ones or even survivors of entry from gun violence. But also, our perspective that this actually is an epidemic and we've all known for some time that it's a public health crisis. And finally, the AMA has stated that as well some years ago. The other side said, "Why are you talking about this? Stay in your lane!" And so the AMAs said, "We are in this lane. People are getting injured and dying from this."
Decky Alexander: Well, you've alluded a little bit to the pushback in government and in other places regarding the discussion around firearms and patients. So, one of your core pillars is to protect a physician's right to discuss firearm safety and that it is a public health crisis. Have those conversations happened inside exam rooms or with patients? And if so, how?
Dr. Mike Otto: Yes, absolutely! And that's been one of our areas of focus with our organization and our physician members is to make sure those discussions are happening in exam rooms. Physicians routinely ask patients or patients' parents, in the case of pediatricians, "Are you wearing seat belts? Are you smoking? Are you using alcohol?" We are trying to get into the exam room, and on that list of questions, "Do you have firearms in your home? And if so, are they being stored safely?" And we're actually, in working with several healthcare systems in the state of Michigan, including Trinity and Corewell, to get that verbiage into the routine questions that are asked of patients. We try to get it into the electronic medical medical record, and it's taken a fair amount of effort. But we've had a fair amount success doing that. But if you have someone, "Do you have a gun at home?" there's a 50% chance that, even if they do, they're going to say no for a variety of reasons. It's a big stigma of being asked about guns and privacy and your ability to have guns. What we do is actually take a different approach and and provide counseling, saying, "If you have a gun at home, this is what you need to do to store it safely." and take that approach. And we found it's been proven in the public health literature. That's a more effective approach.
Decky Alexander: Mike, you alluded a little bit to some of the data earlier on in the interview, and we know, nationally, firearm-related injuries have become the leading cause of death for American children and teens. And you alluded to it a little, but how do you process that statistic? I mean, how do personally process it?
Dr. Mike Otto: It's hard to process. We all either have or know kids, families with kids. I have four kids and five grandkids. And I process it as a physician in a public health manner but also as a citizen living in a country where for gun violence and death due to gun violence are just way out of proportion than any other industrialized country. It's the U.S. And I look at it as kind of a legacy of our country since it was founded. There's been a gun culture here, and it hasn't stopped. And there are now more guns than people in this country, and we're not even sure how many there are. The closest estimate is probably400 million-plus firearms of the U.S.
Decky Alexander: This is WEMU 89.1, and you are listening to Washtenaw United. I am Decky Alexander, and we are here with Dr. Mike Otto, who is talking to us from Physicians for the Prevention of Gun Violence. We know June is Gun Violence Prevention Month, and we know that, here in Washtenaw County, in 2021, there was a peak--42 total firearm deaths in Washtenaw County. But the deaths, there has been a drop in 2024, down from, I think, a high down from 32 deaths in 2023 down to 2024. Why has there been a decrease in firearm-related injuries to you as a prevention specialist and advocate?
Dr. Mike Otto: Yes, thank you. That's a great question. I think it's multifactorial. I'd like to think that raising awareness of the problem has helped over the last few years. Also, the Michigan Legislature, over the last several years, has passed a number of important gun safety laws, including safe storage, extreme risk protection order or "red flag" law, which allows one to petition a judge when you feel a family member or a partner or friend is a potential risk to themselves or others and has a firearm at home. You can petition the firearm be taken out of the home. But I think perhaps, more importantly, locally, in Washtenaw County, a community violence intervention team was formed some four years ago in response to those numbers that you mentioned. There was a rash of deaths, mostly young men, in Washtenaw County. And this brought together faith leaders, people from the Sheriff's Department, a whole group of wonderful people that I was fortunate enough to join about a year-and-a-half ago, representing Physicians for Prevention of Gun Violence. And this organization helps prevent gun violence in the first place and also helps prevent a second wave of gun violence. When someone is killed by gun violence, sometimes there's a second way of retribution. And we have people with boots on the ground and a notification system and connection with St. Joe's Hospital, which is where most of the victims go for care. So, I think those are couple big reasons. We're very proud of the fact that, for the first time in a long time, homicide rates in Washtenaw County have come down over the last two years. Unfortunately, suicide rates have not. 60-plus% of gun violence deaths in the country and in the state of Michigan are due to suicide. And that's been an increasing cause of death over the last 20 years. And so, we need to do better at intervening in those numbers.
Decky Alexander: Dr. Otto, this was illuminating and amplifying an issue in our county, and I'm really thankful for your time and your dedication to preventing violence through guns. This was Dr. Mike Otto, Board Director for Physicians for the Prevention of Gun Violence, our guest on Washtenaw United. Please stop by our website at WEMU.org for more information. Washtenaw United is produced in partnership with United Way for Southeastern Michigan, and you hear it every Monday. I'm Decky Alexander, and this is your community NPR station, 89.1 WEMU Ypsilanti.
WEMU has partnered with the United Way for Southeastern Michigan to explore the people, organizations, and institutions creating opportunity and equity in our area. And, as part of this ongoing series, you’ll also hear from the people benefiting and growing from the investments being made in the areas of our community where there are gaps in available services. It is a community voice. It is 'Washtenaw United.'
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