When it’s rainy, icy, or snowy outside, it’s easy to slip and fall. Falls can cause serious and even life-threatening injuries. One way to help prevent falling? Safety experts say one of the best ways is to walk like a penguin. Spread your feet out slightly to increase your center of gravity, and take small steps. The penguin’s trademark waddle can keep your center of gravity over your front leg, which can help keep you upright.
Aside from walking like a penguin, here are some other suggestions to help you prevent wintertime slips and falls:
Keep your hands out of your pockets. Walking with your hands in your pockets decreases your center of gravity and balance. This increases your chances of suffering an even greater injury in the event of a fall. If your hands are out of your pockets, you’ll be better able to break your fall with them.
Wear shoes with good traction. Dress shoes and other types of footwear that have little or no traction aren’t good choices when there’s rain, ice, or snow. High-heels? Save those for better weather.
Don’t rush. This isn’t the time to race your friend (or the clock!) by running to the bus or door. Take your time getting where you need to go on rainy, icy, or snowy pathways. Use any hand rails that are available to you, and if you aren’t sure whether a surface is icy, it’s better just to assume that it is.
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Why is the Discount Challenge prize amount $15,024? Because that is the average “per-occurrence” fine for Medicare inducements. That’s not $15,024 per patient, that’s not per provider, that’s PER VISIT. Stinks, doesn’t it? To us, the prize amount is worth the investment if we can help our profession better understand proper discounting.