On behalf of Children’s Mercy Kansas City, lead agency for the Safe Kids Greater Kansas City Coalition, Laura Kemerling, MSN, RN, C-NPT, Program Manager for the Center for Childhood Safety & Injury Prevention, applied for and received $4,500 in grant funding from the Preventative Health and Health Services Block Grant through Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE). The funding will help the coalition and partnering organizations with injury prevention for kids. The project period runs Jan. 1, 2025-Sept. 30, 2025.
The funds are being used in collaboration with the Children’s Mercy Healthy Homes Program and The University of Kansas KU Medical Center’s Project Eagle program for Wyandotte County, KS, families.
The Healthy Homes Program, an environmental health program at CM, helps improve children’s health and advocate for safe housing conditions. Particularly for children with chronic diseases like asthma or heart disease, exposure to unhealthy environments pose dangerous risks. Project Eagle provides early education and home visiting services to young children and pregnant women, along with their families.
Families invited to participate in this program are those living in Wyandotte County, KS. According to the 2022 CMH Community Health Needs Assessment, approximately 26.7 percent of children in Wyandotte County live in poverty and almost half experience one or more adverse childhood experiences.
“These factors, paired with inadequate access to quality care or resources, can lead to poor health outcomes and a decline in parental engagement,” explains Laura. “Therefore, the need to serve both parents and children is vital to improved health for the whole family.”
As part of the funded project, the groups are offering safety devices such as car seats, helmets, reflective lights, and medication lock boxes to families in need.
Specifically related to safety initiatives, goals of the project include minimizing risk for unintentional injuries on Wyandotte County roadways and in homes through education and safety devices.
“With need validated by data that highlights unintentional injuries throughout the state of Kansas, our goal is to implement this programming to support child safety efforts,” said Laura.