This column appears in the Nevada Appeal’s Tuesday health pages. It addresses topics related to the health of our community.
How many times have you noticed a hazard in your home or workplace and thought, “I’ll take care of that later”? Often we overlook hazards because it is the easy thing to do in the short term. We convince ourselves we are too busy to take care of picking something up or putting something away. However, in the long term these oversights can become regrets after someone is injured as a result of our distraction.
June is National Safety Month and the National Safety Council encourages us to take steps over the next four weeks to ensure No 1 Gets Hurt! Each week has a new safety focus geared toward building awareness of and lessening hazards. Now is the time to improve safety in your home or workplace! Do not put off important actions that can protect you and those around you!
Week 1 will focus on emergency preparedness. It is important for each of us to create our emergency plan now. This includes having phone numbers of important contacts stored somewhere other than your cell phone, having emergency food, water, and medications, as well as having a plan of where you would go if you had to leave your home.
During week 2, the National Safety Council encourages all of us to invest in our sleep health. Approximately 70 million Americans suffer from a sleep disorder. Do you? Talk to your health care provider to learn more about how sleep can impact many areas of your health. To learn more about healthy sleep habits, visit the National Sleep Foundation website (www.sleepfoundation.org).
Falls are the focus of Week 3 as they are the leading cause of injury among older Americans and one of the top most frequently reported workplace violations. Most falls happen by simply tripping over something on the floor. Additionally, in 2017 a greater number of falls were associated with distracted walking (including texting, talking on the phone, or listening to music while walking) than ever before.
The theme of week 4 is centered on putting an end to distracted driving. This column has focused on distracted driving before, but the statistics are still alarming about the number of drivers still using a cell phone to talk or text, or doing other non-driving behaviors while trying to operate a motor vehicle. Automobiles are dangerous, and even deadly. This month and for the future, vow to make driving your ONLY priority when you are behind the wheel. The life you save may be your own. Visit www.zerofatalitiesnv.com to learn more about how you can make our roads safer.
Safety success depends on spotting hazards early, evaluating their risk, and removing or controlling them before harm is done. Use this June to find creative ways to engage everyone in reducing risk in your home or workplace. A little effort today has the potential to prevent tragedy tomorrow.
For information about services and programs available to you through Carson City Health and Human Services, please visit our website at gethealthycarsoncity.org, follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/cchhs, or call us at (775) 887-2190. You can also find us at 900 East Long Street in Carson City.