Community members, elected officials and representatives of the health, education, transportation, municipal and business sectors gathered at the Wellington County Museum and Archives for a priority setting exercise on community safety on Nov. 22.
Hosted by Safe Communities Wellington County (SCWC), the event brought together a wide range of stakeholders to consider injury data – from emergency room visits, hospital stays and community surveys – to determine the injury priorities in the county for 2018 to 2023.
“We have a very good cross-section of our community represented,” said Safe Communities co-chair Gregg Davidson.
Wellington County OPP detachment commander Inspector Scott Lawson added, “We have all the disciplines here.”
Davidson, a Wellington County councillor, explained this is the second priority setting exercise SCWC has conducted. The first was undertaken in 2012.
Facilitator Rebecca Brodmann explained the first exercise resulted in intentional self harm, motor vehicle collisions and falls being designated as the top three local injury prevention priorities.
While an updated survey indicates motor vehicle injuries are now the top concern, followed by falls and pedestrian and cyclist safety, Brodmann said the survey “is only one of the components that will inform the new priorities.”
Wellington Dufferin Guelph Public Health Medical Officer of Health Dr. Nicola Mercer said the focus of the session would be on “What can we do toward preventing accidents and injuries?”
She said, “We do know that this costs a society. It costs us money, it costs us time and I doubt that there’s a individual in this room that hasn’t been impacted either personally, or in their circle of friends, by injuries.”
Mercer added injuries and accidents are often “predictable and preventable.”
