June serves as National Safety Month and provides for an
opportunity to become better educated on a multitude of safety topics that can
help protect you and your loved ones for various safety issues. Did you know
that injuries are the third highest amount of unintentional deaths in the
United States? And even more alarming, the number one killer of unintentional
death is overdoses from prescription medications- specifically opioid misuse.
In this blog we will tackle a few important safety tips in honor of National
Safety Month. It is our hope that this blog provides useful information that
helps keep you safe starting now!
Work-Related Injuries
Work safety is of the utmost importance for not only your
health, but also for businesses. Because of workplace injuries, businesses
incur costs in wage and productivity, medical expenses, administrative
expenses, and more. As most might guess, the industry that deals with the most
preventable injuries is construction, with transportation coming in second and
warehousing taking the third spot. Top work-related injuries include
overexertion, contact with objects or equipment, and of course slips, trips and
falls.
What can you do to help ensure less injuries happen on the job?
The most important thing is making sure you have a well-trained workplace. At
least once a year, employees should participate in compliance training that
includes safety and well being of employees. Here are some great topics to make
sure employees are trained on:
·
Specialized Training for Particular Jobs
·
First Aid Training
(this includes CPR and AED training)
Motor-Vehicle
Injuries
Distracted driving has become a major concern in recent
years, with cell phones being the main distraction causing accidents and
injuries even with many states making hands-free cell phone use laws. A
distracted brain makes for a distracted driver. The little thing can cause
unexpected situations which is why it is so important that when driving you are
not only being present but paying attention to all your surroundings too. More
than 90 percent of car crashes involve human error, so focus on the roads, put
your phones away and practice safety first!
The other major cause of death in motor-vehicles is children
dying in hot car deaths. On average, 38 children die a year from heatstroke
after being left alone in a hot car. If takes a mere few minutes for a car
sitting in the hot sun to heat up and make the inside of a car extremely
suffocating. For additional information on heat strokes, visit www.noheatstroke.org.
Poison-Related
Injuries
Sadly, drug
poisoning is now the number one cause of unintentional deaths with a
staggering 100 people dying daily from opioids alone. Roughly seventy percent
of people who have taken prescription painkillers have received them from a
friend or family member, but did you know that sharing opiate prescription
medication is a felony?
Poison centers receive more than two million calls each year
from citizens seeking medical help regarding poisons, including opiates. Some
of the other most common calls include carbon
monoxide, button
batteries, and laundry
detergent pods. Read or get more information on poison control and how you
can ensure your home is prevented from poisons by visiting www.poisoncontrol.org. If you find
yourself in a poison emergency call 1-800-222-1222
for help.
Home-Related Injuries
Injuries can happen anywhere, and the most common place can
be in our very own homes or even on vacation. Whether it be a poisoning, a fall,
a drowning, a fire, or an environmental incident, it is important to practice
awareness in order to keep you and your family safe. This means picking up items,
so you do not fall on them. Or going through your medicine cabinet regularly to
clean out and get rid of expired medications.
Remember, if we slow down and take the time to practice
safety first, we will do ourselves and others a huge service. If you do ever
find yourself in an emergency, please do not hesitate to contact 9-1-1. Call if you can, text if you can’t.
