February 4-10 is Burn Awareness Week. Burns are an extremely common injury. According to the American Burn Association, someone in the United States sustains a burn injury requiring treatment almost every minute. That’s approximately 486,000 serious burn injuries a year! In fact, the University of Vermont Medical Center has seen more than 300 clinic visits […]
While winter can be a beautiful time of year, storms and cold temperatures can be dangerous. Prepare and plan for how you and your family will stay safe with this checklist! Home Repair roof leaks and remove tree branches that could weigh down with ice or snowfall. To prevent freezing, insulate pipes (insulation, plastic, and […]
A transition of care is the movement of a patient from one health care setting or provider to another. Examples are: discharge from hospital to home; admission from home to a hospital; or movement from one unit to another within the hospital. Transitions of care typically involve the coordination of care and “hand-off” communication. This is where important information can sometimes be overlooked, missed, or miscommunicated. One study estimated […]
Health care associated infections (HAIs) are among the most common complications of being a patient in a hospital. On average 247 people die every day as a result of HAIs, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO). At the University of Vermont Medical Center, the Office […]
As we celebrate National Patient Safety Week, I remember the experience of when one of my family members was the patient. From the lens of a family member you gain a different appreciation for the absolute importance that each member of the team has to assure patients receive optimal care in a safe environment. Patient […]
National Patient Safety Awareness Week is the time to pause and recognize that patients, families, and patient safety are central to everything we do. We come to our roles in health care by different paths, but we all share the common goal of helping others. Our intention in the work that we do, or the […]
Carbon monoxide poisoning is a common safety hazard in the winter. It can happen quickly without much warning, but thankfully it is easy to prevent. Odds are, you have a carbon monoxide detector somewhere in your house. We even recommend getting one for each floor. But, there are some things that may seem harmless that are […]
Every year, brave Vermonters face the cold winds of winter and participate in their winter sport of choice. More often than not, this involves a hefty set of equipment and enough snow to cover one of our best mountains here in the Green Mountain State. The winter months in Vermont are some of the best, […]
May is ATV Awareness Month. According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), there were approximately 340 All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV)-related deaths and 97,200 ATV-related injuries treated at emergency departments in the United States in 2015. Approximately 20% of all ATV-related fatalities since 1982 have occurred among children under the age of 16 It’s ATV […]
Several years ago, I traveled to India to learn more about road safety risks. Like many growth regions of the world, India has many road safety challenges, so it might be easy to think we are pretty fortunate in the United States. But, the estimated road traffic death rate (per 100,000 population, 2013 data) was […]
