Better Communications & NPHW - On the Move

Medication Safety Week

Day Seven

April 7: Better Communication with Health Professionals Day

Actively seek information from your pharmacist about the pills and supplements you are taking. Ask for print-out sheets on all drugs. Discuss all risks and benefits with your prescribing practitioner. Share information about all the medicines and supplements you are taking with every prescribing practitioner and your pharmacist. Discuss expected effects and possible side effects. Discuss if there are any serious side-effects that your doctor needs to know about right away. Report adverse effects promptly and never hesitate to ask questions when it comes to your health. Go to Taking Medications Safely. Go to Taking Coumadin® at Home for safety tips when taking warfarin (generic name for Coumadin) – a blood thinner. Go to www.lamycenter@rx.umaryland.edu for information about geriatric medicine and to http://gerontology.umaryland.edu/docs/lamy.html. Ask consumer questions If you have any concerns at all, call your pharmacist. Your pharmacist is there to help...Just Ask!  (Provided by the Women’s Heart Foundation, www.womensheart.org – thank you)

National Public Health Week

Thursday: On the Move

You can protect yourself, your family and community by taking action, both big and small, to prevent injury. Here are just a few examples:

Start small...

• Wear a seat belt on every trip, no matter how short.
• Make sure children are buckled up in a car seat, booster seat or seat belt.
• Be mindful of the environment and be cautious when crossing the road. Use sidewalks and avoid jaywalking.
• Walk facing traffic and make yourself visible when walking at night.
• Wear a helmet and reflective gear when on a bike, skateboard, scooter or other motor vehicle.
• Avoid texting, eating, using the phone or grooming while driving.
• Be a designated driver. Don’t drink and drive, let others drink and drive, or get into a vehicle with someone who has been drinking.
• Avoiding driving while you are tired.
• Discuss your rules of the road and ask your teen to pledge to avoid speeding, texting and having multiple passengers while driving.

Think big…

• Partner with law enforcement officials to offer traffic education classes for both motorists and non-motorists.
• Support graduated driver’s license laws for new drivers.
• Support alcohol screening and brief intervention programs in your community.
• Encourage the PTA to work with schools to implement teen driver safety programs.
• Hold a child safety-seat demonstration to help families ensure their safety seats are installed correctly.
• Work with community and urban design professionals to plan for and create safe walking and cycling conditions.
• Educate policymakers about the importance of traffic calming measures in residential and urban areas.
• Write a letter to the editor of your local paper that stresses the importance of preventing injuries during NPHW and beyond.

There is much more you can do to prevent injuries beyond these actions. Raise awareness of safety and injury prevention within your community during National Public Health Week. You can help make your community a safer and healthier place to live.

Medication Safety Week

Day 6

April 6: Transitional Care Day

Be cautious whenever there is a change in your medical regimen. Double check your medicines when picking up a new or refilled prescription. If in a hospital or nursing home, make sure the nurse checks your I.D. bracelet before giving you your pills. If a pill doesn't look familiar to you, ask why. It may be a generic of the same drug you were taking, but, if you don't ask, you won't know! Get written instructions upon discharge from any medical facility.  (Provided by the Women’s Heart Foundation, www.womensheart.org – thank you)

It is also a good habit if new medications are being prescribed by someone other than your primary doctor, to notify him/her of the new medication.  It is always better to be safe than sorry!  Add any new or deleted medications to your list of current meds you are taking and remember to provide that to your doctor, dentist or any other healthcare person you might see.

National Public Health Week

Wednesday: At Play

You can protect yourself, your family and community by taking action, both big and small, to prevent injury. Here are just a few examples:

Start small...

• Wear a helmet and other properly fitted protective gear.
• Use proper form and accept your body’s limits.
• Have a physical before starting a new sport and warm-up each time before beginning.
• Play it safe and strictly enforce rules that prevent injury.
• Monitor children while they are at play to ensure safety.
• Drink plenty of water to avoid becoming dehydrated.
• Educate coaches on how to ensure the health and safety of youth athletes.

Think big…

• Educate policymakers about ways to prevent youth athletic injuries. Invite a local student that has suffered from a traumatic brain injury to speak on the importance of safety.
• Form a group in your community that works to educate families about safe play for children.
• Work with local community leaders to build and support safe playgrounds.
• Host a concussion awareness event at a local high school for young athletes.
• Write a letter to the editor of your local paper that stresses the importance of preventing injuries during NPHW and beyond.

There is much more you can do to prevent injuries beyond these actions. Raise awareness of safety and injury prevention within your community during National Public Health Week. You can help make engaging in sports and recreation activities safer.

April 5, 2011 - Safety

Medication Safety Week

Day Five

April 5, 2011 Organize Your Medicines Day

I have several medications, all prescribed by my doctor, and I take my meds four times a day – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and 30 minutes before bedtime.  I developed a good habit of putting my pills into small, re-sealable clear plastic bag (2x2 inch) with white labels on them where I write what day, and when they are to be taken.  This works extremely well for me, as I put them into my daily organizer pocket for the three meal time medications.  Like other folks, some days I forget to take my meds at its prescribed time – but when I reach into that pocket, I know when it was supposed to be taken.  Generally, I don’t mess that up too badly – although I have forgotten overnight a time or two – ugh.  Like my cell phone, my daily organizer where ever I might be – my wife refers to it as my brains.

Take medicines as prescribed. Using a medicine organizer box may be helpful, especially for those taking more than one pill several times a day; however, a medicine organizer box requires close monitoring, especially when there is a change in medicines. Use of the organizer violates the rule of keeping medicines in their original containers.  New drugs with time-release action offers the freedom of once-a-day medicating. Ask your doctor about these new medications. Go to Taking Medications Safely.  (Provided by the Women’s Heart Foundation – thank you)

National Public Health Week

Day Two

As we would say in a class room, let’s see a show of hands that honestly practice good safety habits at work every day?  I suspect not many folks would be raising their hands, and I would have to be one of those, even though – each day I look for things that might need fixing – it is a habit from my shipboard days in the US Navy.  It is really a good habit – drives my wife a little bonkers from time to time – but she is adjusting fairly well after all these years.  The advantage of having been aboard ship – while at sea - is both your home and work place are the only place you can run to if there are problems.  Do you remember Bill Cosby’s skit about Noah and God, and God finally said to Noah, “Noah, how long can you tread water?” If not, do yourself a favor and get it a truly and enjoyable story. I think you get my point– and believe we should have that same sense of due diligence in the work place as well at home.

Many offices were simply not designed to handle today’s working environment!  With all these computers, printers, fax machines, copiers, fancy telephones, and the like, and this has lead to many folks running extension cords where they shouldn’t.  Or the ladies whose feet always seem to be cold and feel the need for that little space heater under their desk.  How about the emergency lighting that never seems to be tested as they should and when the electrical power is lost, like many buildings, simply don’t properly work.  Do you like walking down those dark hallways?  How about those dark stairways – say 15 or more stories up?  Sound like fun?  How about that coffee maker left on too long – with only a small amount of coffer remaining – do you enjoy that brunt smell?  Ugh!  These are just a small sample of what most of us have experienced recently.

Tuesday: At Work (provided by NPHW)

Employers and employees can work together to build safer and healthier work environments. Taking action, both big and small, to prevent injury in the workplace is common sense and effective. Here are just a few examples:
Employers start small...

• Understand and follow all workplace safety regulations and best practices. Go beyond the minimum required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
• Educate employees about workplace regulations and train employees to recognize unsafe or unhealthy settings. Create an employee reporting system to allow workers to report hazardous working conditions.
• Provide required or recommended protective equipment and reflective gear to reduce employee exposure to hazards.
• Create safe work environments by identifying and fixing workplace hazards such as unstable surfaces and malfunctioning vehicles.
• Maintain a working sprinkler system and schedule fire drills to practice safe evacuation.
• Promote workplace safety by offering tips on your company bulletin board, website or newsletter.
• Conduct personal safety training programs that teach employees how to recognize, avoid or diffuse potentially violent workplace situations.
• Invite health care professionals to the workplace to discuss how to prevent injuries.

Employees start small…

• Wear all personal protective equipment required or recommended for your occupation.
• Participate in worksite safety trainings programs and follow all workplace laws and safety rules.
• Ensure vision is not obstructed when operating heavy machinery.
• Hold a brown-bag lunch at work to focus on workplace safety.
• Use your rights to advocate for safety and health.

Think big…

• Write a letter to the editor of your local paper about the importance of preventing workplace injuries during National Public Health Week (NPHW) and beyond.
• Invite local policymakers and others to a community roundtable to discuss injury prevention in the workplace and follow-up with specific actions.
• Support your family, friends and neighbors when they try to improve health and safety at their workplace.

There is much more you can do to prevent injuries beyond these actions. Raise awareness of safety and injury prevention within your community during National Public Health Week. You can help make your job a safer and healthier place to work.

Tomorrow, we will discuss ‘at play.’

Thanks for stopping by, we sincerely appreciate your visiting and trust you found the information worthwhile and will visit us again real soon.  Drop us a line, let us know how we are doing.  Your comments, suggestions and recommendations are always welcome – and please join our growing list of followers – we would love to visit with you from time to time.

Until we meet again, be safe and take good care of yourself.

Big Week Ahead!

Week of April 4-8, 2011

Greetings to one and all and thank you for stopping by our Blog Site today and we hope you enjoy your visit and please leave your comments.  We have a very busy week ahead of ongoing and new information to share with you this week:

·       National Public Health Week;

·       National Work Zone Safety Week;

·       Medication Safety Week;

·       Drowsy Driver Awareness Day;

·       National Day of Hope; and

·       World Health Day.

So let’s begin the week by taking on a very important topic – Safety around the home.  Think ahead, if you have guests visiting, especially younger children, be prepared!  Put those sharp things away and out of reach of those little hands.  Do you have cleaning fluids around, if so; put them away where curious little ones can not get to them.  Are all your electrical outlets covered, if not, please cover them.  Once you have done your check throughout the home, make a second trip on your knees just to make sure everything is squared away, in its place and safe for those visiting.

(From the National Public Health Week Organization (www.npw.org) provides the following overview.)

Safety is NO Accident

It only takes a moment for an injury to happen – a fall on a stair, a moments glance away from the road, a biking or sports-related injury, a medication mix-up. But it also takes just a moment to protect against injuries and make communities safer. The potential for injury is all around us. Each year, nearly 150,000 people die from injuries, and almost 30 million people are injured seriously enough to go to the emergency room.

Injuries are not "accidents", and we can prevent them from happening. Taking actions such as wearing a seat-belts, properly installing and using child safety seats, wearing a helmet and storing cleaning supplies in locked cabinets are important ways to proactively promote safety and prevent injuries.

During National Public Health Week 2011, the American Public Health Association (APHA) needs your help to educate Americans that "Safety is No Accident". Together, we can help Americans live injury-free in all areas of life: at work, at home, at play, in your community and anywhere people are on the move. We all need to do our part to prevent injuries and violence in our communities. Join us as we work together to create a safer and healthier nation.

NPHW calendar of events 

Monday: At Home

Day One

You can protect yourself, your family and community by taking action, both big and small, to prevent injury. Here are just a few examples:

Start small...

·       Assess your home for potential hazards such as poor lighting and uneven surfaces to prevent falls.

·       Install and maintain smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors in your home.

·       Establish a plan for how you would evacuate from your home in the event of an emergency.

·       Make sure all electrical outlets are covered and inaccessible to children.

·       Supervise young children whenever they’re near cooking surfaces and never leave food unattended on the stove.

·       Program emergency numbers, such as the Poison Control Hotline (1-800-222-1222), into your phone to call in the event of a poisoning emergency.

·       Install four-sided isolation fencing at least five feet high and equipped with self-latching gates to prevent drowning in home swimming pools.

·       Store cleaning supplies and medicines in locked cabinets out of the reach of children.

·       Check your hot water heater periodically and adjust the thermostat to 120 degrees Fahrenheit or lower to avoid burns.

Think big...

·       Organize Tai Chi classes to help promote physical activity and prevent falls among older adults.

·       Invite local firefighters to a community event to promote fire safety.

·       Form a coalition that supports consumer protection policies to reduce the use of toxins in household products.

·       Partner with your poison center to visit schools to talk about poison safety.

·       Submit a letter to the editor of your local paper that stresses the importance of living injury-free during NPHW and beyond.

There is much more you can do to prevent injuries beyond these actions. Raise awareness of safety and injury prevention within your community during National Public Health Week. You can help make your home and community a safer place to live.

Tomorrow we will discuss the work place – where the employer and employee can work together in making their environment a safe place to work. 

Medication Safety Week - April 1 - 7

 

Communication is key because it can prevent so many errors

Purpose: to raise awareness about medication safety and offer strategies to reduce risk. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, an estimated 76.6 billion dollars is spent annually on preventable medication-related illnesses. Taking a more active role to learn about medicines and supplements and communicating more effectively with healthcare practitioners may avert serious harm. (Most of this article is provided by the Women’s Heart Foundation,  – thank you

There will be 7 Focus days of Medication Safety Week.  They are:

·       April 1: Clean out your medicine cabinet Day

·       April 2: Know Your Medicines Day

·       April 3: Reading Medicine Labels Carefully Day

·       April 4: Dietary Supplements Day

·       April 5: Organize Your Medicines Day

·       April 6: Transitional Care Day

·       April 7: Better Communication with Health Professionals Day

April 1, 2011 Clean Out Your Medicine Cabinet Day.

I’m lucky to have a nurse as my wife.  She checks labels, expiration dates, reads the profile sheet to ensure we understand possible side effects and reactions to other medications and or food/drinks.

·       Start with a clean slate. Discard outdated medicines and old prescriptions.  Store medicines in their original containers and in a cool, dry place. Locate medicines away from children and pets and from those who do not understand. 

·       Although the week’s final day encourages people to communicate more fully with their health care providers, especially the prescribing provider, the day’s communication theme is an overall goal of the entire week.

April 2: Know Your Medicines Day

Make a list of all the medicines you are taking. Write down both the generic and brand names of medicines as this may prevent inadvertently double-dosing. Know the drug’s purpose and why you are taking it. Be able to identify pills by name. List prescription medicines, over-the-counter medicines, birth control pills and patches and supplements. Keep the list updated and keep it with you at all times. Go to Medication Record (English version); or Medication Record (Spanish version); and to Health History Record (English version). 

April 3: Reading Medicine Labels Carefully Day

Keep medicines in their original containers. Pay attention to warnings. Note that some medicines can react with foods. Others have to be taken on an empty stomach. Some lose potency quickly and must be kept in an air-tight container. The effectiveness of many medicines is dependent upon taking them at correct times. How the medicine is to be taken –the route – is also important (i.e. by mouth, through the skin, under the tongue, inhaling, rectal or vaginal suppository, enema or douche).  Injections are administered either intramuscular (IM) in a deep muscle such as pain medications and vitamins; intradermal (ID) under the skin such as insulin or intravenous (IV) in the vein. Be Careful!

April 4: Dietary Supplements Day

Discuss taking a dietary supplement with your doctor or practitioner and your pharmacist before starting it. Herbals and other dietary supplements can react with medicines and have an unknown synergistic effect. All herbals are contraindicated while pregnant or breastfeeding. Go to Dietary Supplements. Go to www.fda.gov/cdr/drug/advisory/stjort.htm - the federal government's drug advisory on drug interactions with St. John's Wort. Go to http://nccam.nih.gov , an information resource on complimentary and alternative medicines.  

We will continue with the others days early next week.