iNSPIRe Article Featured in President's Bulletin

Mar 2, 2025

The SUNY Downstate Department of Surgery congratulates Dr. Panos Kougias, Dr. Sherene Sharath, the late Dr. Erfan Faridmoayer, and undergraduate students Gozienna Okeke and Mahrukh Sana on the publication and recent feature in the SUNY Downstate’s President’s Bulletin of the research study “Financial Burden and Outcomes of Firearm Injuries in U.S. Hospitals, 2003–2020” published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine.  

The study described the inpatient stay cost of firearm-related injuries in a national sample from 2003-2020. The findings included that inpatient stays for firearm injuries cost more than $15 billion and more than half the patients were self-pay or Medicaid insured. The cost of firearm-related injuries at safety-net hospitals increased from approximately a quarter billion dollars to over half a billion dollars during the study period. The study highlights the crucial need to invest in and support safety net hospitals that care for patients suffering from firearm-related injuries.  

In addition to the important findings of the study, the study is significant in that it was co-first authored by two undergraduate students, Gozienna Okeke and Mahruk Sana. The students were participants in iNSPIRe’s Summer Program in Translational Disparities and Community-Engaged Research, demonstrating the iNSPIRe program’s impactful mentorship of emerging healthcare leaders and researchers.  

Link to the President’s Bulletin Article: https://www.downstate.edu/about/office-of-the-president/presidents-bulletin/2025/01-28/safety-nets-under-fire.html