Safety is No Accident. Live Injury-Free: At Home

You can protect yourself, your family and community by taking action, both big and small, to prevent injury. Below are just a few examples. You can help make your community a safer and healthier place to live.

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 drownings 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.