Fatimah Loren Dreier Named to Modern Healthcare’s 2024 Innovators List
Executive Director of the HAVI and the Kaiser Permanente Center for Gun Violence Research and Education recognized for her groundbreaking work to address the public health crisis of gun violence in communities of color
April 8, 2024 — Today, Modern Healthcare announced their selection of Fatimah Loren Dreier, executive director of the Health Alliance for Violence Intervention (HAVI) and the Kaiser Permanente Center for Gun Violence Research and Education, as one of their 2024 Modern Healthcare Innovators. Dreier is a nationally recognized expert in health equity and preventive public health strategies to address gun violence and trauma-informed care delivery.
This distinguished honor recognizes leaders and organizations driving innovation that improves care and achieves measurable results. The profiles of the honorees are featured in the April 8, 2024 issue of Modern Healthcare magazine and online at ModernHealthcare.com/Innovator-Awards.
“I am incredibly honored to be recognized alongside such an inspiring group of leaders who are driving real innovation in their respective fields,” said Dreier. “Having grown up in a neighborhood affected by the cycle of violence — which ensnared even members of my own family — my work to end community violence is deeply personal. My motivation to drive innovation in this work is firmly rooted in my own experiences with violence as a child, as well as an enduring belief that to end the scourge of gun violence, we must listen to and empower those who are closest to the problem.”
In her position at the HAVI, Dreier has increased national awareness for hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs) and their role in a comprehensive community violence intervention (CVI) ecosystem. She served as a technical assistance lead for the White House Community Violence Intervention Collaborative — an 18-month initiative that launched in June 2021 to enhance coordination and peer-to-peer learning among the 16 participating jurisdictions. Dreier worked alongside coalition partners to secure billions of dollars for CVI through the American Rescue Plan Act and other executive actions. Under Dreier’s leadership, the HAVI has been the driving force behind a growing movement to use Medicaid as a key funding component of the community violence intervention ecosystem.
As Executive Director of the Kaiser Permanente Center for Gun Violence Research and Education — which is coordinated in collaboration with the HAVI — Dreier oversees the center’s work to support equity-centered gun violence research; educate the public on causes and solutions; and partner with the most impacted communities to innovate, implement, and scale evidence-based, health-focused interventions that prevent gun violence. As part of this work, the center deployed $4.5M in grants over the past two years — with another $2.5 million to be awarded this spring — to support gun violence prevention research and bring evidence to practice. The center also leverages a vast national network of health care partners — from the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma to the American Medical Association — to build awareness and access to resources for tens of thousands of clinicians across the country.
“Fatimah has been a true pioneer in advancing a new paradigm for addressing gun violence as a public health crisis,” said Bechara Choucair, MD, senior vice president and chief health officer at Kaiser Permanente. “Her work is grounded in a powerful vision for racial equity that centers the wisdom and ingenuity of communities of color, and the results are inspiring.”
Dreier’s profile from the April 8 issue of Modern Healthcare is available here without a subscription.
About the HAVI
Founded in 2009, the Health Alliance for Violence Intervention (HAVI) is a national organization that fosters a network of hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs), which provide services for victims of community violence while they are recovering from their injuries. These programs address the social determinants of health for victims of firearm injury and are a critical component of a comprehensive community violence intervention (CVI) ecosystem. The HAVI has 72 members—including 63 HVIPs, six organizational members, and three student/trainee members—and serves over 85 cities in the U.S. and beyond, providing training and technical assistance (TTA) and support with strategic communications, policy development, peer learning, and research. The HAVI also works to shift narratives about violence and trauma in communities of color and partners with its members to advance policy and research that address violence as a public health emergency.
In December 2022, the HAVI was selected by Kaiser Permanente to help coordinate their Center for Gun Violence Research and Education. The Center supports equity-centered research that addresses the root causes of community violence, educates the public on causes and solutions, and partners with the most impacted communities to innovate, implement, and scale evidence-based, health-focused interventions that prevent gun violence.