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Vol 8., No. 10, November-December 2007
THOUGHTS & QUOTES
Preventing Injuries from Slips, Trips and FallsFor 2003, the National Safety Council reported that falls resulted in over 7 million visits to emergency rooms, leading all other causes of ER visits. Over 16,000 Americans died as the result of a fall in 2003. In the workplace, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 4.4 million injuries for 2003. About a third of these resulted in days away from work, and of these, over 250,000 were falls, accounting for almost 20% of disabling workplace injuries. Injuries due to falls in the workplace typically resulted in 7 to 14 days away from work. About 700 workers died from a workplace fall in 2003. Florida AgSafe has two publications about falls:
Slips, trips and falls can be exacerbated in agriculture because of what one may trip and fall into. For example, tripping next to an operating power take-off shaft may result in much more serious consequences than tripping by itself. Auburn Farm Safety Program for Reducing Worker's Compensation RatesFarm safety specialist Jesse LaPrade with Auburn University Extension has put together a package that farmers can use for training employees for safety rules and practices. This in turn may be supplied to insurers to help reduce worker’s comp insurance rates. This can be used as a ‘template’ for someone to develop a plan for their specific workplace. Program materials are at: http://www.aces.edu/farmsafety/. Arthritis, Agriculture and YouThe Missouri Arthritis Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (MARRTC) and the Missouri AgrAbility Project (MAP) offer simple solutions to help farmers, ranchers and farmworkers prevent and better cope with arthritis. MARRTC and MAP provide downloadable, easy-to-read and understandable tip sheets about joint protection, managing arthritis pain, assistive technologies for farmers and ranchers, and farming safely with arthritis. These can be found at http://marrtc.missouri.edu/products/FarmingInfo.html. About 70 million Americans live with some form of arthritis, a number that is likely to go up as the American population ages. Arthritis is the leading cause of disability among American adults, costing the nation $21.7 billion a year in direct medical costs alone. The actual costs balloon to $65 billion a year when other factors such as lost productivity and days off work are taken into consideration. Arthritis, which is an umbrella term for more than 100 conditions, is an often misunderstood and potentially disabling disease that diminishes the quality of life for millions of Americans. New NIOSH Safety and Health Topic PagesNIOSH has posted new Safety and Health Topic Pages for:
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