This Week's Facts:
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Help Spread Poison Prevention
Awareness Next Week
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Be Prepared: Join the Central
US ShakeOut April 19
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Join CDC in Sharing
Dangers of High Salt Intake
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Historical Bureau Unveils
Historical Marker Map
ISDH, CDC
Partner on Cancer Prevention Initiative
The Indiana State Department of
Health and the
Centers for Disease Control
are partnering for a national
campaign, Screen for Life. This campaign informs men and women
aged 50 and older about the importance of having regular
colorectal cancer screening tests. These preventative screenings
can help find precancerous polyps so they can be removed before
turning into cancer. Unfortunately one-third of adults aged 50
or older do not get these potentially life-saving screenings.
Screen for Life, along with the
Indiana Cancer Consortium,
is helping to inform the public and prevent the spread of
cancer. Using the tools and resources provided will help of
Hoosiers 50 and over live a long, healthy, cancer-free life.
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Friday Facts Editorial Team:
Katharine Springer
State Data
Center Coordinator
Elisabeth
O’Donnell
Federal Documents Librarian
&
Kim Brown-Harden
State
Documents Coordinator
 
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Help Spread Poison
Prevention Awareness Next Week
 Poison
Centers in the United States receive one call every 12.7
seconds. Nearly 83percent of poison exposures are accidental.
Unintentional poisoning is something that can occur in nearly
any situation: poisons can be ingested, inhaled or even absorbed
through the skin. In order to shed light on the problem of
accidental poisoning and to help people prevent it, March 20-26
has been proclaimed National Poison Prevention Week. The
Department of Health and Human Services has a great website
dedicated to poison prevention. Their
FAQ section in particular
is full of helpful hints, from dealing with pesticides to what
to do with a toothpaste-eating child. While they of course
recommend calling 911 if someone is unconscious or having
trouble breathing, they have a toll free number you can call for
any questions related to chemicals, medicine or other household
items: 1-800-222-1222. According to the HHS, people usually get
the help they need over the phone. This is a great resource!
Calls are free and translation is available for 161 different
languages. The HHS also has materials in order to plan your own
Poison Prevention activities. You can visit their
website to locate planners,
tips, press releases and more.
Be
Prepared: Join the Central US ShakeOut April 19
 Before
the earthquakes that shook Japan, the
Central
United States Earthquake Consortium scheduled the
Great Central US ShakeOut.
The Shakeout is an earthquake drill that will be held at 10:15
AM EDT on April 19, 2011 in Indiana (April 28 for other states
in the consortium). As we have seen, major earthquakes in
heavily populated areas can bring horrible devastation. In order
to have citizens be as prepared as possible, the Shakeout drill
needs to have as much participation as possible. To do this,
visit their website to register and pledge that your business,
family, school or other organization will participate –
participation can be as simple as practicing “drop, cover and
hold on” at the appropriate time. Registered participants will
receive updates and information on how to plan their drill and
keep the lines of communication open. See the Indiana Department
of Homeland Security’s
website for more information. Natural disasters
can bring devastating consequences, but if we are prepared we
can at least survive and rebuild in the aftermath.
Join CDC in
Sharing Dangers of High Salt Intake
 March
21-28 is World Salt Awareness Week. According to the CDC, most
Americans consume too much salt. In addition to a love of salty
foods, we also tend to eat food that contains preservatives.
Salt is sneaky, because there are many foods that can be high in
sodium but not taste salty. These include breads, cheese, meat
and more. The recommended limit for daily sodium intake is 1,500
milligrams per day, or about a teaspoon. It’s important not to
eat too much because increased amounts of sodium can cause high
blood pressure and a host of other problems. There are ways to
lower your sodium: fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables tend to
be lower in salt than those that are canned. Many food products
come in low or no sodium varieties and you can also be aware of
how much salt from the salt shaker you are adding to your food.
For more tips from the CDC, see their Salt-tistics
flyer. You can also test
your knowledge of salt consumption by taking this salt
quiz. Finally, see the CDC
page on
salt for information geared
towards those most at risk of salt-related issues.
Historical Bureau
Unveils Historical Marker Map
 Before
you take that spring motorcycle ride or drive out of town, check
out the locations of Indiana’s historical markers and visit one
along the way. You can use the Indiana Historical Bureau’s new
Google Maps of marker locations by region
on the
Indiana Historical Markers
website. Once you choose a region of the state, marker pins
appear on a map in the location of the actual markers. Click on
a pin, and this takes you to an enlarged thumbnail of the
marker. Then, click on the link to “Go to marker page,” and the
page will show further detail about that particular marker.
Indiana regions include North, West, East, Central, South
Central, and South. Some of the markers in the South Central
Indiana region, for example, include
Scott County’s Carnegie Library,
the
Illinoian Glacial Boundary,
and the
Madison and Indianapolis Railroad.
For more information about the Indiana Marker Program, go to the
About webpage. Volunteers
make a huge difference to the Marker Program by helping supply
labor and materials to maintain our time-honored state markers.
Visit the
Adopt-a-marker webpage to
see the list of marker
locations in need of repair
(by county),
repair instructions, and contact information. The
Bureau will soon conduct a project inventorying the condition of
state markers. Volunteers will be recruited in the coming
months.
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