National Safety Month - Preventing Slips, Trips and Falls

National Safety Month, an annual observance to educate and encourage safe behaviors around top causes of preventable injuries and deaths. This weeks theme focuses on Preventing Slips, Trips and Falls.

Did you know - Falls are by far the leading unintentional injury accounting for more than 8.7 million emergency room visits each year in the United States.

Most falls are preventable. Many people attribute falls to being clumsy or not paying
attention, but many risk factors exist. Risk factors include physical hazards in the
environment, age-related issues and health conditions. Reduce your risk and find fall hazards
in your workplace and home to prevent injuries and keep others safe round the clock.

Remove common fall hazards:
• Keep floors and stairs clean and clear of clutter
• Maintain good lighting both indoors and on outdoor walkways
• Secure electrical and phone cords out of traffic areas
• Use non-skid throw rugs in potentially slippery places, like bathrooms
• Install handrails on stairways, including porches
• Use a sturdy step stool when climbing or reaching for high places
• Clean up all spills immediately
• Wear sensible footwear
• Never stand on a chair, table or surface on wheels
• Arrange furniture to provide open pathways to walk through
• Periodically, check the condition of outdoor walkways and steps and repair as necessary
• Remove fallen leaves or snow from outdoor walkways
• Be aware that alcohol or other drugs, including prescription and over-the-counter
medicine, can affect your balance and increase risk of falling.

Memorial Weekend

Memorial weekend is the traditional start to summer.

As you are enjoying time outdoors with friends and family, please follow these practical safety tips from cooking, to swimming, to boating. We want everyone to have a very SAFE Memorial Day Weekend!

BBQ Safety

• Never use a grill indoors including garages, overhangs and canopies
• Grills must be at least 30 feet from any multifamily apartment dwelling.
• When using a grill at your single-family home, homeowners should use a 10-foot perimeter from anything combustible, including your house.
• Do not allow children and pets to play near a grill.
• Only use approved ignition fluids—never use gasoline to ignite a grill.
• Keep a fire extinguisher, garden hose or bucket of sand nearby to douse a grill fire.
• Inspect your grill before you ignite to ensure everything is in working order.

Water Safety

• Know how to perform CPR on children and adults.
• Always watch your children; never leave them unattended.
• Keep children away from pool drains, pipes and other openings.
• Have a phone close by at all times.
• If a child is missing, check the pool first.
• Keep emergency numbers and rescue equipment (lifesavers, poles, etc.) poolside.
• Never leave a child unsupervised in or around a swimming pool, even for a moment.
• Tie up long hair securely to prevent it from getting caught in the drain.
• Never rely solely on a personal floatation device to protect a child.
• Never dive in water less than nine feet deep.
• Refrain from horseplay around the pool area.
• If the pool area looks "too deep" for you, you're probably right.
• Homeowners should install four-sided isolation fencing, at least five feet high, equipped with self-closing and self-latching gates that completely surrounds the pool and prevents direct access from the house and yard.
•  Homeowners should outfit the pool with an alarmed device that will notify residents when someone enters the pool area.
• Air-filled swimming aids such as "water wings" are not substitutes for U.S. Coast Guard-approved personal flotation devices.
• Always wear U.S. Coast Guard-approved personal floatation devices.
• Children and adults should never swim alone; always use the "buddy" system.
• Never rely on lifeguards to supervise your children.
• Never underestimate the depth of a body of water.

Boating Safety

• Before you board any watercraft/boat, make sure, the pilot of that ship has completed a boating safety course approved by the U.S. Coast Guard.
• Always wear a personal floatation device and make sure it's buckled.
• Don't let children operate personal watercraft such as jet skis.
• Never consume alcoholic beverages of any type while you are a pilot or passenger of a water vessel.
• Refrain from swimming near a marina or dock connected to electrical service lines.

Travel Safety

• Plan for extra time to get to your destination.
• Get plenty of rest prior to driving on a long trip.
• Check weather forecast for all major cities along your route.
• Stay calm, road rage often leads to tragedy.

And remember to pay tribute to the U.S. men and women who died during military service, the real reason for the holiday. Please observe a minute of silence at 3:00 p.m., local time.

1st Annual Central Nebraska Kids Safety Day

It was great seeing so many of you at the 1st Annual Central Nebraska Kids Safety Day!

We cannot wait to begin planning to next years event!

Remember to Join us at the First Annual Central Nebraska Kids Safety Day

May 18 is Safe Kids Day. Join us at the Buffalo County Expo Center for Safety FUN!

Good Morning Nebraska - Nebraska Safety Center May Update

Good Morning Nebraska - Nebraska Safety Center May Update

Kids Safety Day

May 18 is Safe Kids Day. Join us at the Buffalo County Expo Center for Safety FUN!

National Bike to School Day

Today is National Bike to School Day!

Biking is a great way to get to school, unfortunately, more kids ages 5 to 14 are seen in emergency rooms for injuries related to biking than any other sport. Each year, 112 children die from bike-related injuries and more than 289,000 nonfatal bike injuries occur.


Safe Kids Worldwide offers these tips to stay safe when biking:

• We have a simple saying: "Use your head, wear a helmet." It is the single most effective safety device available to reduce head injury and death from bicycle crashes.
• Tell your kids to ride on the right side of the road, with traffic, not against it. Stay as far to the right as possible. Use appropriate hand signals and respect traffic signals, stopping at all stop signs and stoplights.
• Teach your kids to make eye contact with drivers. Bikers should make sure drivers are paying attention and are going to stop before they cross the street.
• When riding at dusk, dawn or in the evening, be bright and use lights – and make sure your bike has reflectors as well. It's also smart to wear clothes and accessories that have retro-reflective materials to improve biker visibility to motorists.
• Actively supervise children until you're comfortable that they are responsible to ride on their own.

More tips are available at http://www.safekids.org/tip/bike-safety-tips