Sandoval County Proclaims March Brain Injury Awareness Month, Citing Statewide Toll

District 2 Commissioner Jon Herr stood before the Sandoval County Commission in Bernalillo on March 25 and read a proclamation that put a stark number on New Mexico's traumatic brain injury burden: roughly 600 state residents die from brain injuries every year.

The formal recognition of March as Brain Injury Awareness Month placed Sandoval County among jurisdictions treating TBI not as a niche medical concern but as a broad public-safety issue. Herr's reading cited approximately 1,000 New Mexicans who sustain brain injuries annually, with an estimated 21,000 to 32,000 living with lasting disabilities as a result.

Nationally, the scale is larger still. The proclamation referenced figures showing approximately 2.8 million Americans sustain a traumatic brain injury each year, while 5.3 million are currently living with disabilities caused by those injuries.

The proclamation identified falls as a leading cause, particularly among older adults, while also naming motor-vehicle crashes, assaults, sports injuries, occupational incidents, and drug overdoses as contributing factors. Age patterns cut sharply in two directions: the highest injury rates fall among those under 35, while risk rises steeply again past age 65.

Herr framed the recognition as both a public-safety and health-services priority, pointing to the need for coordination among first responders, health-care providers, community nonprofits, and county departments to identify service gaps and pursue funding for screenings, rehabilitation resources, and caregiver supports.

The proclamation carries potential financial implications. Health-focused county resolutions have increasingly served as foundational documents for state and federal grant applications, and Sandoval County staff signaled interest in expanded programming that could include partnerships with hospitals and rehabilitation centers, as well as training for school staff and first responders on recognizing TBIs.

One specific outcome already under discussion involves county firefighters. Staff flagged interest in expanded occupational medical evaluations for a group that faces elevated traumatic injury exposure on the job, a step that could become one of the first concrete programs tied directly to the commission's proclamation.