KANSAS SELECTED BY CDC TO RECEIVE INJURY AND VIOLENCE
PREVENTION FUNDING

Kansas is receiving $120,000 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support injury and violence prevention and control efforts. The funding was awarded to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) to enable the state and the department to strengthen its injury prevention and control programs and activities, and to enhance the state's injury tracking capabilities.

"We are very pleased to receive this award to support injury and violence prevention programs and information gathering capabilities in Kansas," Howard Rodenberg, M.D., M.P.H., KDHE Division of Health Director. "Continuing to build upon our progress, gain new knowledge, and reach out to partners in our community is vital for achieving our goals of making our families and children safer and healthier."

In addition to essential infrastructure development support, the award is intended to help Kansas strengthen its injury prevention planning coalition with partners from academic, nonprofit, local government, private, and professional organizations dedicated to reducing injury and violence.

The funding provides for KDHE to conduct a symposium with stakeholders to promote intentional and unintentional injury prevention efforts. In addition, the symposium provides an opportunity to enhance the economic sustainability of the state injury prevention program, and to develop an action plan for marketing and resource efforts.

The funding will also support Kansas' ability to collect and analyze information about injury and violence from centralized electronic hospital and vital statistics data. This data is compiled annually for the CDC Injury Indicators Report. In addition, information about traumatic brain injuries (TBI), drowning, fire-related injuries, motor vehicle injuries, poisoning, homicides, suicides, and those resulting from mass casualty events will be collected and analyzed to direct future injury prevention plans.

"We know that injuries and disabilities can be prevented and we can save lives. These grants are just one vital way that we are actively supporting states so that they can develop effective injury and violence prevention plans and programs for their communities." said Dr. Ileana Arias, director of the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (CDC Injury Center). "Change can happen when we unite and share our commitment to reduce the pain and suffering caused by injuries and violence."

Injury is the leading killer of all Americans ages one to 44. Deaths and injuries from causes including car crashes, home fires, homicides, suicides, child abuse, youth violence, intimate partner violence, recreational injuries, and older adult falls affect more than 5.5 million people each year, according to CDC data. In addition, injuries represent a substantial burden on our healthcare system; injuries are responsible for more than 10 percent of all medical expenses or $117 billion annually.

Information about injury and violence prevention and control data, programs or activities, as well as information about traumatic brain injury, can be found at www.cdc.gov/injury/.

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