| Greetings!
HealthySV, your Healthy Maine Partnership, located at Sebasticook Valley Hospital is pleased to provide you with resources to better support your valuable work force. |
| Alcohol and Workplace Safety Don't Mix! |
If any of your employees are reporting to work under the influence, they are putting themselves and others at risk. Take advantage of Alcohol Awareness Month to promote an alcohol-free and drug-free workplace.
Workplace use of alcohol and drugs is a problem that costs American businesses more than $100 billion annually, according to the U.S. government. If that figure sounds high, consider these statistics:
- Most substance abusers are employed.
- Substance abusers are 2.5 times more likely to be absent 8 or more days a year than other employees.
- Between 30 and 50 percent of all workers' comp claims are related to substance abuse (abusers file 3 to 5 times as many claims as other workers).
- Substance abusers incur 300 percent higher medical costs than nonabusers.
It's estimated that close to 10 percent of the U.S. population over age 12 has a substance abuse problem. Among full-time employees with substance abuse problems, those ages 18 to 25 have the highest rates. However, lots of older workers have dependence problems, too-particularly alcohol dependence.
For more information on substance abuse policy development, please visit www.drugfreeworkplace.gov. The Staff of Healthy SV are also available to review policies and assist with development and/or revision.
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| Why Be Concerned? |
| Employees who are working under the influence are 3 times more likely to have job accidents than other employees. And sometimes, when they have an accident, they're not the only one hurt. They may injure one or more of their co-workers, too.
Even a little alcohol can impair:
- Judgment
- Coordination
- Reaction time
Whether it's getting behind the wheel of a company vehicle, operating a piece of equipment, handling hazardous chemicals, or climbing a ladder, any impairment can be dangerous-even deadly. Just image the havoc an impaired forklift operator could cause. Or imagine what could happen to a worker who has had a few drinks and is working high up on a scaffold or a powered platform.
As a safety professional, you don't even want to imagine such things happening. You certainly don't want to see them happen in your workplace.
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| Maine Workplaces Support Nursing Moms |
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In September 2009, Maine's labor law was amended to require support for nursing mothers. The law now states:
(a) for an employee who is a nursing mother, the employer shall for 3 years after the birth of the child:
* provide adequate unpaid break time, or permit an employee to use paid break time or meal time each day to express breast milk for her nursing child.
* make reasonable efforts to provide a clean room or other location, other than a bathroom, where an employee may express breast milk in privacy.
(b) an employer may be exempted from this section if providing time or an appropriate private space for expressing breast milk would substantially disrupt the employer's operations.
(c) an employer shall not retaliate or discriminate against an employee who expercises the right provided under this section.
What can employers do to support nursing mothers in the workplace?
* Develop workplace policy and determine who oversees implementation.
* Inform employees of new policy.
* Identify a clean, private place with access to elecrtric outlets and a chair. Consider a walk through with your employee.
* Offer flexible breaks.
For more information contact the State of Maine WIC Nutrition Program, 800-437-9300/207-287-3992 or www.wicforme.com.
Watch for more information in our August Newsletter. |
| Wellness Tip - Asthma Prevention |
For people with asthma, having an "asthma management plan" is the best strategy to prevent symptoms. An asthma management plan is something developed by you and your doctor to help you control your asthma, instead of your asthma controlling you. An effective plan should allow you to:
· Be active without having asthma symptoms.
· Participate fully in exercise and sports.
· Sleep all night, without asthma symptoms.
· Attend school or work regularly.
· Have the clearest lungs possible.
· Have few or no side-effects from asthma medications.
· Have no emergency visits or stays in the hospital.
Four parts of your Asthma Managment Plan:
1. Identify and minimize contact with your asthma triggers.
2. Take your medications as prescribed.
3. Monitor your asthma and recognize early signs that it may be worsening.
4. Know what to do when your asthma is worsening.
For more information, refer to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (www.AAFA.org) and contact your medical professional. |
| National Employee Health and Fitness Day - May 19, 2010 |
National Employee Health & Fitness Day, held annually on the third Wednesday in May, is a national health observance created by the National Association for Health and Fitness to raise awareness of the important role worksite health promotion programs play in enhancing the overall health and productivity of an organization. Started in 1989, National Employee Health and Fitness Day has engaged tens of thousands of employees from employers around the world.
Worksite health and fitness programs have a proven record for improving the overall health and productivity of the workforce! We encourage you to checkout Welcoa's free reports. These key reports, studies, and other publications are designed to help you understand some of the key issues involved in worksite health promotion programming.
For ideas for promoting National Employee Health and Fitness Day visit:
Watch for more information in our May Newsletter |
| Walk for Wishes 2010 - May 20, 2010 |
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This year's walk will take place in Pittsfield on May 20th at 6:00PM. The Make-A-Wish Foundation of Maine grants the wishes of Maine children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength, and joy.
Sebasticook Valley Hospital, who is responsible for organizing the Pittsfield event, has a goal of $12,000 for the Pittsfield Walk for Wishes. $12,000 will grant two Maine children with a complete wish!
Register your team today! | |
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Technical assistance on any of the above issues is provided free by HealthySV, your local Healthy Maine Partnership. Please contact us so we can assist you in supporting your employees.
Sincerely,
Karen Hawkes, Director
Healthy SV |
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| Featured Article |
| April is Alcohol Awareness Month |
When many people think of alcohol abusers, they picture teenagers sneaking drinks before high school football games or at unsupervised parties. However, alcohol abuse is prevalent within many demographic groups in the United States. People who abuse alcohol can be:
- College students who binge drink at local bars.
- Pregnant women who drink and put their babies at risk for fetal alcohol syndrome.
- Professionals who drink after a long day of work.
- Senior citizens who drink out of loneliness.
In 2007, more than one fifth (23.3 percent) of persons aged 12 or older participated in binge drinking at least once in the 30 days prior to taking SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). This translates to about 57.8 million people. The rate in 2007 is similar to the rate in 2006 (23.0 percent). |
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| HealthySV
Karen Hawkes
Director
447 Main Street
Pittsfield, ME 04967
(207)487-3890 ext. 2733
www.healthysv.org
Please visit our website for more information and resources including the Healthy Maine Works Worksite Wellness Initiative. |
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