Georgia Department of Public Health awarded injury prevention grants

Dec. 20--ATLANTA -- The Georgia Department of Public Health announced Thursday it was awarded $1.89 million in grants from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety for the purposes of advancing injury prevention efforts.

The grants are meant to provide technical assistance and resources to partner agencies statewide, develop community support for motor vehicle safety programs, support data linkages and help evaluate program efforts.

"This unique partnership between highway safety and public health will help promote a safer Georgia," DPH Commissioner Dr. J. Patrick O'Neal said. "This programmatic support has made a difference and can continue to save lives and prevent injuries."

The funding from GOHS is meant to acknowledge the success of programs in Georgia that are essential to protecting public health.

The Injury Prevention Section's Child Occupant Safety Project, or COSP, received $1.23 million to promote safe transportation of children throughout Georgia. The COSP provides child safety seats and education for caregivers through the car seat mini-grant program active in more than 140 counties, as well as training for healthcare professionals, law enforcement, emergency medical services, firefighters and child care providers.

The DPH Office of Health Indicators for Planning was awarded $206,102. This supports a web-based query system that gives public access to statistics on deaths, hospital discharges, emergency medical visits and motor vehicle crashes based on DPH's departmental data warehouse.

The Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System, or CODES, project received $119,244. This project brings together multiple agencies to identify opportunities for crash prevention by linking and analyzing crash, vehicle and behavioral characteristics to medical and financial data.

The Injury Prevention Section's Older Driver Safety Program received $119,251. This project works to maintain and/or enhance the mobility of older adults by developing comprehensive strategies that balance the needs of older adults with the safety of other road users and pedestrians.

There was also $216,690 in support received for Georgia Emergency Medical Services Information System upgrades and linkages. The upgrades grant is expected to support the work being done to increase the completeness and accuracy of the patient care information through the GEMSIS database.

"The grants are important resources for our public health prevention strategies that improve highway safety throughout the state of Georgia," O'Neal said.

The DPH is the lead agency in preventing disease, injury and disability; promoting health and well-being and preparing for and responding to disasters from a health perspective. For more information about the agency, visit https://dph.georgia.gov/.

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