The statistics on injury are chilling:

• In the U.S., injury is the leading cause of death from ages 1 to 44.
• Every day 16,000 people die from injuries worldwide.
• Injuries cost the U.S. $406 billion annually.¹
• Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of injury death in Erie County, with prescription drug poisoning, motor vehicle crashes, and falls claiming the most lives.  
• Erie County’s hospitalization rate for self-inflicted poisoning and other forms of attempted suicide far exceeded the state rate in recent years (122.2 vs 81.3 per 100,000).
• Despite significant reductions in the past ten years, injury remains the single most preventable cause of death and disability to persons under age 14.  Prevention of both intentional and unintentional injuries to children will continue to be a priority in the coming years. Growing concerns include bullying, suicide, and gun violence among young people.

The purpose of the Erie County Injury Prevention Program is to prevent death and disability from intentional and unintentional injury.  Services are provided through a contract with the Pennsylvania Department of Health along with an agreement with Safe Kids Worldwide.  We have affiliations with Safe States Alliance www.safestates.org, the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) www.naccho.org, the National Safety Council, and the World Health Organization (WHO) www.safecommunitiesamerica.com through the worldwide Safe Communities initiative.

Erie County was recently designated a “Safe Community” by the World Health Organization because of the Erie community’s commitment to work together to address safety.  The Erie County Department of Health serves as the lead agency for both Safe Communities Erie County and Safe Kids Erie Coalitions. Coalition members work together to raise public awareness and conduct special events and programs focusing on the leading causes of injuries and injury-related deaths:

• drug poisoning
• motor vehicle crashes
• falls
• suicide

as well as injuries to children under age 14

• crib safety
• playground safety
• water safety
• bike safety
• pedestrian safety
• fire safety
• sports and recreational safety

The Erie County Department of Health has conducted injury prevention programming for over twenty years, working with funding provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control, as well as Safe Kids Worldwide, PA Safe Kids, and local donors interested in childhood injury prevention.

Safety is NO accident, live injury free, the slogan for National Public Health Week 2011, expresses the everyday theme of the Erie County Injury Prevention Program.

Through needs assessment, goal setting, partnerships, coalitions and committees, the injury prevention programs based at the Erie County Department of Health lead the way for county residents to be safe, aware and learn how to become injury free.

To learn more about Safe Communities Erie County, click here.
To learn more about Safe Kids Erie, click here.

¹ http://www.jhsph.edu/injurycenter/about/mission_history/

This information is distributed by Erie County Department of Health, 606 W. 2nd Street, Erie, PA 16507, 814-451-6700, www.ecdh.org.