STAYING SAFE FOR THE HOLIDAYS – ISSUE NO. 497

Every year a video surfaces of a real Christmas tree catching on fire in the matter of seconds and it scares me enough to drag out the old artificial tree from the basement and decorate it for another Holiday season. It's more of a convenience for me anyway. I'm not trying to take anything away from the experience of cutting down your own tree and having the fresh smell of pine in your home during the Holidays. If you are a real tree enthusiast, please make sure you are exercising caution and taking proper steps to ensure your tree doesn't become a fire hazard. This includes making sure your tree has plenty of water to help prevent your tree from drying out. Also, when you set up your tree, keep it away from heat sources that could set it on fire. When you leave the house, be sure to turn off the tree lights. They may look nice lit up in the bay window at night, but its not worth the chance of coming home to your house burned down. These extra precautions are helpful in order to maintain quality assurance and safety. When working in the SPD, properly recording testing results of equipment helps ensure the safety of instruments being reprocessed. Implementing routine tests and recording procedures can help keep patients and staff safe all year round.