Tips from Atrium Health Navicent Will Help You Deck the Halls with Safety in Mind

‘Tis the season to deck the halls and get festive with holiday decor. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, during the holiday season, there are about 160 decorating-related injuries each day. Most of the injuries are related to falls, leading to thousands of emergency room visits.

Atrium Health Navicent doctors encourage individuals to take proper safety precautions when decorating for the holidays and offer the following tips to prevent injuries putting a damper on holiday festivities:

Personal safety

• Ladders: When using an outdoor ladder to hang lights, or to climb into an attic space, use the four-to-one rule to help you get the angle right for the ladder. A ladder should be positioned one foot out for every four feet up. For example, if a ladder is leaning against the top of a 20-foot wall, the base should be five feet away from the wall. When climbing the ladder, make sure you have three points of contact with the ladder at all times — either two hands and one foot, or two feet and one hand. It’s also a good idea to have a family member hold the ladder securely as you climb.

• Heavy boxes: Plan your path for carrying the box before you lift it. Make sure the path is clear of obstacles. Place your hands around the bottom of the box, not the sides. Bend from the knees, not the back, to lift. Never raise a box higher than your shoulders. Seek help when needed if the box is too heavy or you are in danger of dropping it.

• Fall-proof your home: As holiday decor moves into pathways and electrical cords help light up the night, be sure that these added items don’t pose fall-risks for family and visitors. Make sure your front door is clear of obstacles and remains well-lit at night. Keep steps clutter-free, and keep handrails accessible — even if wreathed in garland. Be sure electrical cords are routed along the walls of your rooms, and not across the middle. If cords are in doorways, be sure to tape them down securely. Place Christmas trees out of the way of traffic and do not block doorways.

Lights

• Handle holiday lights with care, checking sockets, wiring and bulbs before use.

• Do not use electric lights on metallic trees.

• Never string together more than three sets of incandescent lights, and never overload electrical outlets.

• Stringing lights from a ladder takes patience and balance. Always have a helper or two to balance the ladder and assist as needed.

• Turn off all lights and other lit decorations when going to bed or before you leave home.

Decorations

• Make sure your live Christmas tree has plenty of water, and look for the “fire resistant” label when buying an artificial tree.

• Avoid glass ornaments and look for shatter-proof options.

• Place trees away from fireplaces, radiators and other heat sources.

• Keep ornaments out of reach for small children and pets, as they could pose a choking hazard.

• Holiday plants are pretty, but can be deadly. Mistletoe, poinsettia and holly berries are all toxic if ingested. Keep them out of the reach of small children and pets.

• When decorating outside, make sure decorations are labeled as safe for outdoor use.

“Decorating for the holidays is a great way to spend time together as a family, but it’s important to keep safety in mind as a visit to the emergency room will surely ruin your holiday spirit,” said Dr. John Wood, medical director for the Emergency Center at Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center. “Keep walkways free of clutter to reduce fall risks, keep small ornaments out of children’s reach, and be careful when lifting heavy boxes and climbing ladders.”

• Atrium Health Navicent The Medical Center (770 Pine St., Macon)

• Atrium Health Levine Children’s Beverly Knight Olson Children's Hospital (888 Pine St., Macon)

• Atrium Health Navicent Peach Emergency Department (1960 Hwy 247 Connector, Byron)

• Atrium Health Navicent Baldwin (821 North Cobb St., Milledgeville)

• Putnam General Hospital, Atrium Health Navicent Partner (101 Greensboro Road, Eatonton)

• Atrium Health Navicent Urgent Care North (3400 Riverside Drive, Macon)

• Atrium Health Navicent Urgent Care East (1339 Gray Highway, Macon)

• Atrium Health Navicent Urgent Care Northwest (5925 Zebulon Road, Macon)

About Atrium Health Navicent

Atrium Health Navicent is the leading provider of health care in central and south Georgia and is committed to its mission of elevating health and wellbeing through compassionate care. Atrium Health Navicent is part of Advocate Health, which is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, and is the third-largest nonprofit health system in the United States, created from the combination of Atrium Health and Advocate Aurora Health. Atrium Health Navicent provides high-quality, personalized care in 53 specialties at more than 50 facilities throughout the region. As part of the largest, integrated, nonprofit health system in the Southeast, it is also able to tap into some of the nation’s leading medical experts and specialists with Atrium Health, allowing it to provide the best care close to home – including advanced innovations in virtual medicine and care. Throughout its 125-year history in the community, Atrium Health Navicent has remained dedicated to enhancing health and wellness for individuals throughout the region through nationally recognized quality care, community health initiatives and collaborative partnerships. It is also one of the leading teaching hospitals in the region, helping to ensure viability for rural health care for the next generation. For more information, please visit www.NavicentHealth.org.

About Advocate Health

Advocate Health is the third-largest nonprofit integrated health system in the United States – created from the combination of Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health. Providing care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois, Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama, and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, Advocate Health is a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health services nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise. It is nationally recognized for its expertise in cardiology, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Advocate Health employs 155,000 teammates across 69 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations and offers one of the nation’s largest graduate medical education programs with over 2,000 residents and fellows across more than 200 programs. Committed to providing equitable care for all, Advocate Health provides more than $6 billion in annual community benefits.