National Public Health Week

WHEREAS, preventable injuries rank among the top ten causes of death for people of all ages; and

WHEREAS, injuries account for 12 percent of medical care spending, totaling as much as $69 billion per year; and

WHEREAS, each year, nearly 150,000 people die from injuries, and almost 30 million people are hurt seriously enough to go to the emergency room; and

WHEREAS, in 2008, almost 20 percent of all crashes involved some type of distraction; and

WHEREAS, one pedestrian is injured every eight minutes in a traffic crash; and

WHEREAS, three children die each day as a result of accidental drowning; and

WHEREAS, early childhood home visitation can prevent child maltreatment episodes in high-risk families by 40 percent, but nearly 900,000 children are confirmed to have been maltreated each year; and

WHEREAS, two-thirds of children killed by bicycle- related injuries could have been saved by wearing a helmet; and

WHEREAS, having a working smoke alarm cuts the risk of death from a house fire by 50 percent; and

WHEREAS, more than 90 percent of exposures to poisonous substances occur at home and the majority are unintentional incidents; and

WHEREAS, according to the preliminary findings of the 2009 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, 18 percent of fatal work injuries are a result of assaults and violent acts such as homicides and self-inflicted injuries; and

WHEREAS, the theme of National Public Health Week 2011 is Safety is No Accident: Live Injury Free:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby do proclaim April 4 through April 10, 2011, as

National Public Health Week

in the State of Alabama.

Given Under My Hand and the Great Seal of the Office of the Governor at the State Capitol in the City of Montgomery on the 14th day of March 2011.

 

      

Governor Robert Bentley