The South Dakota Department of Health received a grant through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to implement the South Dakota Violent Death Reporting System (SD-VDRS) to collect data from death certificates, medical examiners/coroners, and law enforcement related to various violent deaths to inform prevention efforts. As part of the grant, the Department of Health formed the SD-VDRS Advisory Committee to improve data quality and timeliness, increase partnerships, and promote the use of SD-VDRS data in the prevention of violent deaths in SD.
Committee Members
- Ally Gross, South Dakota Department of Health, Injury Prevention Coordinator, Chair
- Doug Solem, Beadle County Sheriff’s Office
- Dr. Kenneth Snell, Minnehaha County Medical Examiner
- Janet Kittams, Helpline Center, Chief Executive Officer
- Jesse Fagerland, Pennington County Sheriff’s Office
- Josh Phillips, Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office
- Michael Colwill, Sioux Falls Police Department
- Noel Miller, Sanford USD Medical Center, Injury Prevention and Outreach Coordinator
- Sarah Shewbrooks, Great Plains Tribal Leaders Health Board, Epidemiologist
- Vanessa Barnes, Department of Social Services, Assistant Director of Prevention and Crisis Services