The Child Fatality Prevention Team of Rowan County recently released its annual report.

The report covers 1998, a year in which eight children died in accidents, most in car crashes. Most were teen-agers, but the report cited cases of infants thrown from vehicles because of the absence of an infant car seat or a seat belt.

The number of accidental deaths was nearly double the county’s average during the past five years.

A total of 23 children died in 1998, down from 29 the previous year.

No children were murdered in Rowan County during 1998, a welcome change from 1997, when four children were murdered.

The deaths of those children sparked changes in the way many agencies do business. Agencies and hospitals have become more vigilant and aggressive in reporting instances of suspected abuse.

“This decline in child deaths is a welcome statistic for Rowan County; however, there are still major concerns for the high number of accidental deaths as a result of motor vehicles,” concludes the the Child Fatality Prevention report.

Emergency Medical Services Director Beth Connell serves as chairman of the group, which records and analyzes data from the state. The slow process of moving data at the state level causes a one-year lapse in the reporting process.

Five children died from complications of premature birth; five from congenital birth defects; three from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome; and two from illnesses.

Rowan County mirrors the state in the percentage of children who die prematurely or within the first year.

Rowan County’s infant mortality rate in 1998 was slightly better than the state at 7.5 deaths per 1,000 births. The statewide rate was 9.02.

But Connell points out that there is little joy in being slightly better than the state. Among the 50 states, only two have a worse mortality rate than North Carolina: Alabama and Mississippi.

Among area counties, only Cabarrus had a lower infant death rate than Rowan. Cabarrus recorded 6.9 deaths per 1,000 births. Iredell was on the high end with 9.63 deaths per 1,000 births.

Connell recently presented the annual report to the Rowan Board of Health, which endorsed the recommended course of action. A similar report will be given to Rowan commissioners at a later date.

The report has several recommendations, virtually all of which are the same as ongoing health and social service programs.

The recommendations include efforts to ensure pregnant women get needed prenatal care and follow-up care. It also calls for aggressive enforcement of the new restricted driver’s license law and a campaign to increase use of seat belts and child restraints.

The report pays special attention to the increasing Latino population in the county.

Connell said the team strongly recommends expansion of health care and services to the Latino community through recruiting bilingual employees and providing incentives to county employees to learn Spanish.

Connell said the challenge of building bridges to the Latino population goes further than learning the language. She noted that many of those who have immigrated here come from countries where people are fearful of government agencies.