SERICN

The more that scientists and physicians learn about the human nervous system, the more they marvel at what a sophisticated network it involves, with cells and nerve fibers at all extremities of the body interacting automatically to keep us conscious, alert, and safe, and to monitor and repair injury. For many years, local, state and federal agencies in the Southeast worked independently on injury prevention and control. Although they did good work, their overall impact was diminished by a lack of interaction between them. This situation was remedied in 1991 by the creation of the Southeastern Regional Injury Control Network (SERICN), the nation’s oldest such organization and a model for subsequent regional networks. SERICN brings together public health departments from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee – supporting each state’s public health initiatives, providing training sessions and information exchange, and facilitating the development of statewide and interstate injury control programs. UAB’s ICRC contributes to the network’s goal of reducing injuries by fostering interagency collaboration and underwriting network travel expenses. Other state and federal agencies are involved with SERICN, including the University of North Carolina Injury Prevention Research Center (UNC IPRC), the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), the National Highway Traffic Safety  Administration (NHTSA), the Children’s Safety Network (CSN), the Child Passenger Safety Council (CPSC) and the Kentucky Injury Prevention Center, to name a few.

Carrie Connolly, Program Coordinator of the ICRC, currently serves as the ICRC‘s SERICN representative. The UAB ICRC is proud of her leadership role in this important gathering of injury prevention personnel from across the Southeast. SERICN continues to make its presence known through presentations and poster displays at national meetings and conferences, as well as partnering with other injury colloquia like the State and Territorial Injury Prevention Directors’ Association.