Jasper County Health Department received the “Love our Kid Injury Prevention Grant”. This grant will focus on giving more educational information to the residence of Jasper County on children injury prevention including suffocation, SIDS, shaken baby, car seats, drowning and burns.
According to Iowa Department of Public Health website, “Injuries are a leading cause of death in Iowa. Unintentional injury is the leading cause of death for Iowans ages 1-34, and it is the fifth leading cause of death for all Iowans. IDPH strives to address the burden of injury on the public health by disseminating information about injury deaths and hospitalizations and promoting programs directed at preventing both intentional and unintentional injuries.” In addition, “Injuries also lead to more than 17,000 hospitalizations in Iowa each year and more than 250,000 emergency department visits.”
The Jasper County Health Improvement Plan indicated a high level of child abuse and neglect and also violent and abusive behaviors. Jasper County Health Department wants to better educate the community, especially parents with infants and child about injury prevention. The Maternal Child Health Taskforce will also continue the Welcome Bags with a resource guide for families with new babies born in Jasper County.
“We will continue to offer more preventive education to the Jasper County communities. Injuries are a major public health concern and mostly preventable. We hope to educate to try to alleviate the burden of injuries,” said Becky Pryor, administrator.
This grant is funded by IDPH, Emergency Medical Services division.