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Faulk County Really Safe; Jackson County Dangerous

Where do you find the most careful people in South Dakota? Faulkton, Cresbard, and Orient:

Death Rate Due to Accidents by SD County 2008-2012
Source: South Dakota Department of Health (click to embiggen!)

According to state Department of Health data, from 2008 to 2012, Faulk County had the lowest rate of accidental deaths in South Dakota, just an age-adjusted 9.3 deaths per 100,000 population. (Given that Faulk County has a population of 2,377, you might not find anyone this year falling off a ladder in Faulkton.)

Faulk folk are anomalously cautious: the next lowest accidental death rate, in Walworth County, is 21.8 per 100K, followed by Lake at 23.1 (funny that no one's falling off the High Rise) and Douglas at 25.1.

Notice that South Dakota's accidental death rate is about 14% higher than the national rate. Motor vehicle accidents make up a third of our accidental deaths; falls account for another third.

The land of living dangerously is Jackson County, with an accidental death rate of 159.9 per 100K. Folks in Wanblee and Kadoka are are 17 times more likely to get killed in an accident that their Faulkton friends. You should probably wear a helmet in McLaughlin and Presho, too; Corson County posts the second-highest accidental death rate, 158.3 per 100K, followed by Lyman County at 155.0.

 

4 Comments

  1. Bill Dithmer 2014.07.28

    We have a problem in western SD. Actually more then one but I wont bore you with the others. What I want to talk about are the rules that are in place for acute victim's in both car crashes, and sickness when an ambulance is called.

    At the ranch, the first thing that the 911 operator had to do was decide if yiu were going to Phillip or Martin. By law the almost dead have to go through either one of those emergency rooms before being transferred to a hospital with the persomal to maybe save a life. A lot of problems are caused by the loss of treatment times when it could be most effective, as soon after the wreck as possible. Sometimes tha half hour or hour spent at the smaller hospital could mean life or death because of the distance they will still have to travel after they stop to visit the local hospital. Remember, at Martin they are still over a 100 miles from regional, and at Phillip 60.

    I might add here that I have lost two good friends due to stroke that could have been saved had the smaller hospitals not been stopped at and the patients had been given the drug to stop the stroke. It has to happen a lot if I personally know of two.

    Add to this the inconsistency of the trama unit at Pine Ridge IHS and you have the perfect storm as far as trafftc deaths go.

    And then the fact that everyone likes to go to town once in a while for some conversation and an adult beverage, and then drive twenty or fifty miles to get home to do choors, and you see what I'm talking about.

    The only way that I can see to fix this problem is through legislation. Let the EMTs make the decision to transport to the regional trauma hospital and save both time and a life.

    Right now the law is killing some that could have been saved.

    The Blindman

  2. mike from iowa 2014.07.28

    What is the deal with going through smaller places first? Is it so they can bill someone or is it a territorial dispute,Mr Blindman? Seems like someone ignores the Hippocratic Oath of first,doing no harm.

  3. Bill Dithmer 2014.07.28

    Mike it was taken out of the doctors hands, its the law. About ten years ago I tried ti get it changed but couldn't get anyone interested in changing that law.

    I dont think the doctors would have a problem because it would save some lives that are otherwise lost. And lets face it the small emergency rooms just dont have the equipment or the personal to handle the worst cases. That isn't their fault, its just the way it is. Last I heard it cost in the neighborhood of $500 an hour just to insure a dedicated emergency room doctor. The other ER staff can't be to far behind.

    This problem is all about distance, time, and acute care given in a timely manner.

    Gravel roads out in the middle of nowhere
    Places that dont see enough traffic to find an accident in time
    Booze and drugs, either going to get em or comming home after they find em.
    And a give a shit attitude about life

    It's nothing that a good job wouldn't fix. But then that's another post.

    The Blindman

  4. Deb Geelsdottir 2014.07.28

    Orient in the safest county in SD?! Are you kidding me?!

    I grew up within about 25 miles of Orient. The only way people in that area could be so safe is because their cars know the way home from the bar. I played softball for and against the Orient team for15 +/- years. The game was always followed by a direct trip to the bar. It was 3-4 blocks.

    I wonder if the Steeple Bar is still in operation? It was a Methodist church, but the congregation dwindled until they had to sell. Now it's a bar. That's Orient for ya!

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