Now, let’s get out of the cold and walk indoors… 

Usually the first room inside your office that a patient encounters is the waiting room. Some things you may want to consider during inclement weather are:

• Employ walk-off mats just inside the door for patients to wipe their feet. Walk-off mats will become wet with continued use and should be replaced with dry mats so that shoes don’t carry additional moisture into other areas of the practice.

• Have a special umbrella holder or a coat rack available to hang wet and dripping coats.  

• Purchase and use a wet floor sign that can be placed in the normal path of travel that wouldn’t pose a trip hazard for elderly patients. 

• During the holiday seasons don’t place decorations on handrails or in the normal traffic paths. (If you have a question related to holiday fire safety place a call to the local fire department.)

• Don’t place cords in places where patients must walk over them. 

• Check restrooms on a more frequent basis to ensure they are clean and the floors are not slippery. In addition, ensure that any handicap grab rails or bars are attached tightly to the wall or floor for support.

• Have the heating system inspected and cleaned by a professional. This work should be performed at least annually. Don’t forget to have the contractor inspect chimneys and flue pipes for blockage.  

• Check and test both your smoke detectors and CO detectors. If the detectors are electrically powered and have a battery back-up system remember to the change the batteries or if they are battery powered, change the batteries at least semi-annually.  

• If the heating system malfunctions and the temperature in the office drops below freezing on a weekend are you alerted by a low temperature alarm that is transmitted to a central station monitoring company? This prevents the potential for pipes to freeze and burst resulting in damage to contents of your practice. You don’t want office staff to arrive on Monday morning to find medical records floating along the floor. 

If your practice sees children as patients or adults bring children routinely with them on appointments, during the holiday season you can anticipate an increased use of the toys that you have provided. Be careful that toys are evaluated for:

• Small parts that can be pulled off and ingested (use age appropriate toys)
• Sharp edges or broken pieces that can cut small hands or toys that shoot any projectile which injure eyes
• Cleanliness; remember to disinfect toys on a routine basis

If you smell natural gas, don’t use the telephone or turn any lights off or on and never light a match. Get patients and staff outside and away from the office. Call the Fire Department and Gas Company.

As you read this article it may be hard to contemplate winter and cold weather. The only cold air blowing today is from your air conditioner and not from the north. Winter is coming however and if you take some simple steps against its effects today you will be better protected against a potential loss in the future.