Let's Get Personal About National Safety Month

In 1996, the National Safety Council designated June as National Safety Month as a way to promote safety awareness and work toward the prevention of accidents and injuries in the workplace. Since that time, business and industry including higher education have participated in national safety month by becoming more proactive and more involved in workplace safety, personal preparedness and hazard recognition.

The Business Continuity and Emergency Management office, along with the Facilities team, Health and Safety Advisory Committee members, the Compliance officer and Campus Public Safety officers, and many other campus partners are working to improve safety across all campuses through improved communication, accessible online resources, safety drills, and ongoing improvement planning. 

In order for these efforts to truly improve safety we need YOU to make it personal. Personal preparedness is at the core of any emergency response whether it's a slip, trip or fall or something  bigger like an evacuation or a shelter-in-place event. You are essentially your own first responder. What that means is that you are the first person on a scene to either prevent an incident (like a fall), or you are the first person on the scene to react and get to safety (like an evacuation).  

How can you make safety personal?  Here are some key steps to improving your personal preparedness and making yourself safer:

• Prepare for a variety of emergencies by learning basic first aid, preparing a go bag, learning CPR, creating a communication plan with your friends and family
• Participate in emergency drills! These drills may seem inconvenient but they allow you to practice basic emergency response so that if a real event occurs you have a better understanding of what to do and what to expect
• Be situationally aware at work, at home and out in public
• Remember safety first — don't climb on chairs, use a ladder; put your phone away when walking; park in well-lit areas; use a buddy system or request and escort
• Be mindful of the weather — use sunscreen, stay hydrated, pay attention to weather reports, have supplies in your car for all seasons
• Report hazards when you see them

Be alert, Be Safe, Be Prepared!

For more information on all of these topics visit the Business Continuity/Emergency Management website or reach out directly to Amy Rasmussen, Business Continuity?Emergency manager.