Report: Child deaths in New Mexico cost around $1 million in medical expenses each year
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The latest report from the New Mexico Child Fatality Review has been published by the state’s Department of Health. It shows the leading causes and cost of child deaths in New Mexico.
The report shows that over the years, the per-population child death rate in New Mexico has been above the national rate. For children ages 0 to 17, the leading cause of death in New Mexico from 2011 to 2021 has been unintentional injury or accidents.
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Accidents accounted for nearly 600 child deaths over that 10-year period. Congenital anomalies, short gestation, suicide, and homicide were the next leading causes of death.
In 2021, there were 110 injury-related child deaths in the state. Those cost $1.34 million in terms of medical expenses, the report estimates.
The New Mexico Department of Health also reviewed information from child deaths in 2022. Of 84 deaths reviewed, 67 could have been prevented, the report shows. There were also some cases where there wasn’t enough information to determine if the death was preventable.
The vast majority of unintentional injury deaths were preventable, the report says. Those preventable deaths include asphyxiation, poisonings, and force/weapon-related injuries. Child suicide deaths were largely preventable too, according to the report.
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Of suicide deaths the report reviewed, the majority of children had a “sense of isolation,” and more than half had a major life crisis within 30 days of their death.
The report makes policy recommendations for preventing child deaths. The report shows state lawmakers could pass laws to require hospitals to provide more education to parents. The report notes lawmakers have acted on the recommendation to mandate safe gun storage in homes. Lawmakers did just that in 2023.
