Delta County Public Health Awarded Grant for Injury Prevention Initiative
Delta, CO – May 23, 2025 – Delta County Public Health, in partnership with Delta Health, has been awarded a 2025 Injury and Violence Prevention mini-grant through the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE), via the Office of Gun Violence Prevention. The grant will allow Delta County Public Health to implement a comprehensive injury prevention initiative aimed at reducing morbidity and mortality due to unintentional injuries associated with ATV/UTV and bike injury and gun violence. The initiative also promotes prevention through targeted education, community partnership, and the distribution of safety equipment.
The Delta Health emergency department in Delta County treated 20 utility vehicle (ATV/UTV) injuries in 2024, a 150% increase from 8 in 2023. In all these incidents, the injured individuals were not wearing helmets. Delta Health’s emergency department highlighted the urgent need for this initiative, revealing a rise in utility vehicle-related injuries where helmets or other safety measures were not used.
“People do not often realize the necessity for wearing helmets, even while operating ATV/UTV. The increase in head trauma we saw in the ER, rising from eight in 2023 to twenty in 2024, is alarming,” states Kayleigh Wright, BSN, RN, RCRN, PECC, Delta Health Trauma Nurse Coordinator. “Anything we can do to help promote helmet safety awareness is essential.”
The initiative focuses on providing citizens of Delta County with resources in three key areas:
- Helmet Safety: Bicycle and motorcycle helmets will be distributed to promote head injury prevention, particularly among youth and recreational vehicle users.
- Child Passenger Safety: Families involved in motor vehicle accidents can receive replacement convertible car seats before discharge from the Delta Health emergency department. Car seats are often rendered unsafe after a crash, leaving families without a secure way to transport their children home. This effort ensures children remain protected during transit.
- Firearm Safety: Starting January 1, 2025, Colorado’s House Bill 24-1348 mandates specific requirements for storing firearms in unattended vehicles to enhance public safety and reduce gun thefts. Handguns: Must be stored in a locked hard-sided container placed out of plain view within a locked vehicle, locked trunk, or locked recreational vehicle.
These resources will be made available through community events, outreach campaigns, and car seat direct distribution via the Delta Health Emergency Department.
Delta County Public Health is proud to partner with local partners to assist with public education and outreach, including the Delta County Sheriff’s Office, Grand Mesa Motorsports in Delta, and Weekender Sports in Hotchkiss, to broaden outreach and impact to the community.
“We are thrilled to receive this grant and to partner with Delta Health and other community organizations to educate and enhance safety,” said Jacqueline Davis, Delta County Public Health Director. “Partnerships are the cornerstone of effective public health. Together, we are increasing access to life-saving measures by taking meaningful steps to reduce harm and protect lives.”
Through the implementation of the injury prevention initiative, Delta County Public Health and partners seek to improve child passenger safety, increase helmet use by youth on bicycles, youth and adults on off-road vehicles, encourage safe handgun storage practices, and reduce the number of preventable injuries at the local emergency room, urgent care and physician offices.
The first community event under this grant will be a giveaway of free bicycle helmets and a drawing to distribute FREE handgun lock boxes at the Heritage Days event in Delta on June 7th, 2025. We encourage all Delta families with children to visit our booth and receive a free helmet to help keep their young riders safe. These free helmets and handgun lock boxes will be available on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last.
