Health Risks Update

On Tuesday I described findings in a new report from the Trust For America’s Health, which ranked New Hampshire as having very few injury-prevention laws. You can see on TFAH’s nifty map below that N.H. stands out in red — among its more legislation-heavy neighbors — with only four injury-prevention policies.

As of yesterday, however, that may no longer be the case.  Not only did the N.H. Senate approve the prescription drug tracking bill I mentioned at the end of the last post, but the Senate also approved a bill requiring that all school boards develop guidelines for preventing and responding to head injuries among student athletes.

According to the new bill, a student who shows symptoms of a concussion or whom a coach, trainer or other suspects has sustained a concussion must refrain from participating until he or she has permission from a health care provider.

If TFAH’s report had come out today, perhaps N.H. would be shaded brown, along with its neighbors.

This map was reproduced from the Trust For American Health website. View the whole report and interactive map here.