NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:                                                              

Dec. 23, 2024    

ATLANTA - The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) was awarded $2,778,558 from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (GOHS). The grant funding is provided to DPH by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and administered through GOHS. 

 “This long-standing, unique partnership between highway safety and public health helps promote a safer Georgia,” said Kathleen E. Toomey, M.D., M.P.H., commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health. “This programmatic support has made a difference for Georgians and continues to save lives and prevent injuries.”

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

 • $1,743,636.75 to the Injury Prevention Program’s Child Occupant Safety Project (COSP), which promotes the safe transportation of children throughout Georgia. COSP provides child safety seats and education for local caregivers through the car seat mini-grant program active in more than 140 counties and training specific to healthcare professionals, law enforcement, emergency medical services, firefighters, and childcare providers.

 • $214,890.84 to the Office of Health Indicators for Planning, which processes Death, Population, Hospital Discharge, and emergency room (ER) visit data. Data are made available to DPH on a departmental data warehouse and are published on OASIS, a web-based query system providing public access to Motor Vehicle Crash information on Deaths, Population, Hospital Discharges, and ER visits (reporting using data tables, trends, charts, and maps).

 • $343,955.46 to the Injury Prevention Program’s Crash Outcome Data Evaluation System (CODES), a project that 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 CODES group also produced the Georgia Traffic Safety Facts (GTSF) and the Georgia Traffic Safety Quick Facts for the identified Georgia emphasis areas.

 • $218,977.93 to the Injury Prevention Program’s 55+ Driver Safety Program. This program is a resource for drivers over 55 to help maintain their mobility, mental and physical acuity, and lifestyle as they age.  The program offers presentations, workshops, and events, including the Yellow Dot Program, CarFit, and an annual symposium on safe driving and aging.

 • $257,097.02 for support of GEMSIS (the Georgia Emergency Medical Services Information System) upgrades and linkages, as well as tools to measure the time to definitive care, especially for trauma patients. The GEMSIS database is the only statewide source for pre-hospital care information. The GEMSIS Upgrades grant will support the work being done to increase the completeness and accuracy of the patient care information.

“Part of the GOHS mission is to assist in implementing programs and campaigns designed to prevent crashes and eliminate traffic deaths on our roads,” said Allen Poole, Director of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety.  “GOHS will continue to develop new partnerships and continue existing ones to create, refine, and implement safety programs designed to help our state and nation reach our goal of zero traffic deaths.”

The grant year for this award is October 1, 2024, to September 30, 2025.

In Georgia, there were 1,797 motor vehicle traffic fatalities in 2022, a decrease of 1% from 2021, but still ranking Georgia fourth in the number of fatalities in the nation.  Nearly half of the passenger vehicle occupants fatally injured were unrestrained (47%).