Arthur Kellermann

Summary

Arthur L. Kellermann (born 1954) is an American physician and epidemiologist. Until his resignation in November 2022,[1] he served as a professor of emergency medicine at the VCU School of Medicine, senior vice president of health sciences for Virginia Commonwealth University, and CEO of the VCU Health System.[2] He was formerly professor and dean of the F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.[3] Kellerman served as director of the RAND Institute of Health and founded the department of emergency medicine at Emory University and the Center for Injury Control at Rollins School of Public Health. His writings include 200 publications on various aspects of emergency cardiac care, health services research, injury prevention and the role of emergency departments in providing health care to the poor.[4][5][6][7] Kellermann is known for his research on the epidemiology of firearm-related injuries and deaths, which he interpreted not as random, unavoidable acts but as preventable public-health priorities.[8] Kellermann and his research have been strongly disputed by gun rights organizations, in particular by the National Rifle Association of America, although Kellermann's findings have been supported by a large body of peer-reviewed research finding that increasing gun ownership is associated with increased rates of homicide and violence.[9][10]

Arthur L. Kellermann
BornJuly 8, 1954 (1954-07-08) (age 69)
NationalityAmerican
Education
Occupation
    • American physician
    • Epidemiologist
    • Author
    • Professor and Dean of Medicine
EmployerVirginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine
Known for
Websitewww.usuhs.edu/national/faculty/arthur-kellermann-md-mph

Education edit

Kellermann received a Bachelor of Science with distinction in biology from Rhodes College (1976), an M.D. from the Emory University School of Medicine (1980), and an M.P.H. from the University of Washington School of Public Health (1985).[11]

Career edit

Kellermann was a professor of emergency medicine and public health at Emory School of Medicine from 1999 to 2010. He co-chaired the institute's Committee on the Consequences of Uninsurance, which produced six reports on "America's uninsured crisis: Consequences for health and health care" from 2001 to 2004.[4] At Emory, Kellermann served as the associate dean for health policy (2007-2010), the first chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine (1999-2007), and the director of the Emory Center for Injury Control at the Rollins School of Public Health (1993-2006). In 2007, Kellermann received John G. Wiegenstein Leadership Award by the American College of Emergency Physicians.[12]

From 2006 to 2007 he was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellow and joined the staff of the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. In 2007 he was presented with the John G. Wiegenstein Leadership Award by the American College of Emergency Physicians.[5][12]

Kellermann was chair in policy analysis at the RAND Corporation (2010-2013) and vice president and director at RAND Health (2011-2012). He co-chaired the Committee on the Consequences of Uninsurance of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, of which he is an elected member. Kellermann holds career achievement awards for excellence in science from the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, and the Injury Control and Emergency Health Services Section of the American Public Health Association.[4] Kellermann is a fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians and an elected member of the US National Academy of Sciences in the Institute of Medicine.

In a recent article published in Health Affairs, he advocated a number of changes to the military health system, including using medically trained enlisted members such as medics and corpsmen as "primary care technicians" in the stateside care system. He argued that their skills are currently under-utilized while not deployed, and that increasing the number of primary care providers would improve health outcomes and reduce costs.[13]

Research edit

Kellermann's work includes more than 200 scientific and lay publications on various aspects of advanced cardiac life support, health services research, injury prevention and the role of emergency departments in providing health care to the poor.[4][7] Kellermann is known for his research on the epidemiology of firearm-related injuries and deaths in the US. In a 1995 interview, Kellermann said he saw firearm injuries not as random, unavoidable acts but as preventable public health priority.[8] Kellermann's studies, which indicate an increased risk of mortality associated with gun ownership, have been disputed by gun rights organizations, in particular by the National Rifle Association; although Kellermann's findings have been supported by a large body of peer-reviewed research finding that increasing gun ownership is associated with increased rates of homicide and violence.[9]

Kellermann published several high-profile studies on the topic of gun-related injuries. In 1986, he coauthored a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine finding that for every self-defense homicide via firearm, there were 43 suicides, criminal homicides, or accidental gunshot deaths.[14] He coauthored additional studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine identifying firearm ownership as a risk factor for both homicide and suicide in the home.[9][15][16][17][18] Gary Kleck, in a controversial [19] paper, argued that most of the homicides in the 1993 study were not committed with the same gun kept in the household the decedent lived in.[20] Kellermann responded that the mechanism behind the observed effect needed not result from the same gun kept in the household, but by the decedents having used these guns in failed self-defense.[21]

Kellermann has published extensively in the areas of emergency medicine and public health, including studies of emergency cardiac care, use of diagnostic technologies in the emergency department, and on the use of progesterone as a treatment for traumatic brain injury.[22] He has also published research on the role of emergency departments in providing health care to the poor, the role of insurance, and the situation of the uninsured. In recent years, he has written about domestic preparedness to respond to different forms of terrorism.[23] Kellermann was instrumental in the planning and implementation of the American Heart Association's "Racing the Clock to Restart Atlanta's Hearts" initiative. He also played a role in the Institute of Medicine’s three-volume report on the Future of Emergency Care in the United States.[24]

References edit

  1. ^ "VCU Leadership Change Update". Virginia Commonwealth University. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  2. ^ "Arthur L. Kellermann, MD, MPH". Virginia Commonwealth University. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  3. ^ "Arthur L. Kellermann, MD, MPH". Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Retrieved February 23, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d "RWJCSP: NAC: Arthur Kellermann, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.E.P." Robert Wood Johnson Foundation National Advisory Committee. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars. Archived from the original on June 13, 2010.
  5. ^ a b "Emory Center for Emergency Control Faculty Archived August 17, 2009, at the Wayback Machine"
  6. ^ "Curriculum Vitae, Arthur L Kellermann, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.E.P. Archived June 1, 2010, at the Wayback Machine", University of Texas System News 2007
  7. ^ a b "Art Kellermann Named New Director of RAND Health" (Press release). RAND Corporation Office of Media Relations. November 17, 2010. Archived from the original on December 12, 2010.
  8. ^ a b Thomas, John D. (Summer 1995). "Accidents Don't Happen". Emory University Magazine. Archived from the original on January 19, 2001.
  9. ^ a b c Thompson, Bob (March 29, 1998). "Trigger Points". The Washington Post Magazine. Archived from the original on November 8, 2012.
  10. ^ Wenner Moyer, Melinda (October 1, 2017). "More Guns Do Not Stop More Crimes, Evidence Shows". Scientific American. Archived from the original on September 26, 2017. [Kellermann's research] also infuriated the gun lobby, which launched a war against gun research that persists today... I asked Rosenberg what happened after the Kellermann studies came out. "The NRA started a multipronged attack on us," he recounted. "They called the CDC a cesspool of junk science." Indeed, soon after Kellermann's early studies were published, the NRA ran an article in its official journal, the American Rifleman, encouraging readers to protest the CDC's use of tax dollars to "conduct anti-gun pseudo-scientific studies disguised as research." The association also asked the National Institute of Health's Office of Scientific Integrity to investigate Kellermann and his colleagues, but it declined... More than 30 peer-reviewed studies, focusing on individuals as well as populations, have been published that confirm what Kellermann's studies suggested: that guns are associated with an increased risk for violence and homicide.
  11. ^ "Arthur Kellermann". Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  12. ^ a b "John G. Wiegenstein Leadership Award". American College of Emergency Physicians. Archived from the original on 2010-10-26. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
  13. ^ Rethinking The United States’ Military Health System. Arthur Kellermann, Health Affairs. 27 April 2017
  14. ^ Kellermann AL, Reay DT (1986). "Protection or peril? An analysis of firearm-related deaths in the home". N Engl J Med. 314 (24): 1557–60. doi:10.1056/NEJM198606123142406. PMID 3713749. S2CID 36120920.
  15. ^ Kellermann AL, Rivara FP, Somes G, Reay DT, Francisco J, Banton JG, Prodzinski J, Fligner C, Hackman BB (1992). "Suicide in the home in relation to gun ownership". N Engl J Med. 327 (7): 467–72. doi:10.1056/NEJM199208133270705. PMID 1308093. S2CID 35031090.
  16. ^ Kellermann AL, Rivara FP, Rushforth NB, Banton JG, Reay DT, Francisco JT, Locci AB, Prodzinski J, Hackman BB, Somes G (1993). "Gun ownership as a risk factor for homicide in the home". N Engl J Med. 329 (15): 1084–91. doi:10.1056/NEJM199310073291506. PMID 8371731.
  17. ^ Johnson, Carrie (January 14, 2013). "Lack Of Up-To-Date Research Complicates Gun Debate". National Public Radio.
  18. ^ Lupkin, Sidney (April 9, 2013). "CDC Ban on Gun Research Caused Lasting Damage". 20/20. ABC News.
  19. ^ "The Contradictions of the Kleck Study". The Virginia Center for Public Safety. Retrieved 27 March 2021.
  20. ^ Kleck, Gary (2001). "Can Owning a Gun Really Triple the Owner's Chances of being Murdered?". Homicide Studies. 5: 64–77. doi:10.1177/1088767901005001005. S2CID 55024658.
  21. ^ Kellermann, Arthur L. (2001). "Response to Kleck". Homicide Studies. 5 (3): 276–278. doi:10.1177/1088767901005003006. S2CID 144060758.
  22. ^ Wright DW, Kellermann AL, Hertzberg VS, Clark PL, Frankel M, Goldstein FC, Salomone JP, Dent LL, Harris OA, Ander DS, Lowery DW, Patel MM, Denson DD, Gordon AB, Wald MM, Gupta S, Hoffman SW, Stein DG (2007). "ProTECT: a randomized clinical trial of progesterone for acute traumatic brain injury". Ann Emerg Med. 49 (4): 391–402, 402.e1–2. doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2006.07.932. PMID 17011666.
  23. ^ Kellermann, Arthur (August 5, 2005). "Still Not Ready in The ER". Washington Post.
  24. ^ "The Future of Emergency Care in the United States Health System". Institute of Medicine. August 27, 2012. Archived from the original on May 29, 2011.