Hundreds of people are shot and killed each year in Maryland, and many more live with trauma after surviving or witnessing violence. A lot of the guns come from out of state.

The regional hospital system LifeBridge Health has launched an initiative, Stop the Iron Pipeline, to blast this information out and get its Maryland’s neighbors to do something about it.

“We believe we are in a unique position to work with a variety of partners and organizations to raise awareness about how gun violence is affecting our communities and see what we can do together to decrease its impact,” Neil Meltzer, LifeBridge president and CEO, said in a statement.

The campaign specifically focuses attention on a big source of the guns: the so-called “Iron Pipeline,” or the route used to traffic guns across state lines along Interstate 95. Maryland now has among the highest rate of such guns, and they are used in two-thirds of gun crimes, according to the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

The LifeBridge initiative doesn’t center on specific legislation or policy. Instead, it aims to highlight information about the nature of the problem, including on billboards and through a commissioned song. People can share stories and register their support online.

LifeBridge has a big stake in reducing gun violence. Its flagship hospital, Sinai in north Baltimore, treats many of the region’s shooting victims. It also operates the Center for Hope, which aids victims of trauma and their families.

Informing the public about the source of guns and their effects on public health can help focus and energize communities, said Adam Rosenberg, the center’s executive director.

“We know when someone is shot with a gun, whether by accident or suicide, or by way of an argument, they end up in our emergency room or one of our colleagues’ hospital emergency rooms,” Rosenberg said.

“This is a lane we need to be in,” he said. “We’re keeping it front and center.”

Gun violence dropped in the last year in Baltimore, though the homicide rate remains above the national average.

Joseph Richardson, a gun violence researcher and professor at the University of Maryland, said he was unsure if pointing a finger at one, long-known source of the guns would do much more on its own.

“It matters what happens next,” he said.

LifeBridge will need to use its position to spur discussions about the complex and different reasons that people acquire and use guns, according to Richardson. Officials also will need to ensure disparate communities get information on proven, data-backed programs, he added.

Katherine Rottman, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives office in Baltimore, said the agency is working to interrupt the flow of guns across state lines. She said ATF has been in contact with LifeBridge about supplying data on the thousands of guns it has intercepted, which “may inform their decisions.”

Also ready to talk is Lisa Lowman, who works with Baltimore County’s Moms Demand Action, an advocacy group for gun safety measures. She said she’s been in touch with LifeBridge and hopes to involve more people in the discussion, including lawmakers.

Lowman was spurred to get involved after her daughter was the target of threats on social media by another student with a gun. The episode brought back feelings she had as a high schooler, when she was robbed at gunpoint while working at a fast food restaurant.

“We’re eager to let the public know where guns are coming from, and we’re eager to work with LifeBridge,” she said. “We’re looking forward to seeing where this goes.”