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HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
Houston Healthcare EMS earns first in campaign
Collects 4,800 canned goods for needy families
Special to the Journal
Houston Healthcare’s
Emergency Medical Services
staff collected more than
4,800 canned goods this
holiday season, finishing
first place in the statewide
Cans for Kids Campaign
sponsored by the Region
V Emergency Medical
Services.
The cans, according to a
release, were collected at all
Houston Healthcare facili
ties through employee and
public donations.
The largest public dona
tion - more than 400
cans in all - was made by
Gilbane Building Company,
the construction manage
ment company overseeing
the expansion currently
going on on the Houston
Medical Center campus in
Warner Robins.
According to Brenda Dale,
EMT-P with Houston EMS,
all of the collected canned
goods were packed into food
Is it food poisoning or the flu?
Special to the Journal
Each year, 76 million
Americans contract food poi
soning, affecting more people
than the common cold.
More than 300,000 require
hospitalization and millions
more end up in emergen
cy departments or physi
cian offices. Unfortunately,
approximately 5,000 cases of
food poisoning are fatal each
year.
There are a number of
ways to prevent food poison
ing from buying food to stor
ing and preparing it.
Tips for buying food
include:
0 Never buy packages with
tears or leaks.
0 Do not buy foods past their
expiration date.
0 Do not buy produce that
appears bruised or otherwise
damaged.
0 Do not buy fresh-cut pro
duce that has not been refrig
erated or stored in ice.
0 Keep raw beef, pork and
poultry separate from other
foods.
0 Put refrigerated or fro
zen items in the shopping
cart last, just before check
ing out.
D If possible, store refriger
ated or frozen items in insu
lated bags until they can be
refrigerated.
0 Bring cold foods home
immediately.
Tips for storing food include:
0 Always refrigerate perish
able foods quickly.
0 Store eggs in their original
carton in the coldest part of
the refrigerator.
D Cool large volumes of food
in several small containers.
D Do not store milk in the
refrigerator door.
0 Do not let perishable food
stand at room temperature
for more than two hours.
0 Store meat on the bottom
shelf of the refrigerator or in
the back or in the freezer.
0 Make sure the refrig
erator is set to 40 degrees
Fahrenheit or lower. The
freezer should be set to zero
degrees Fahrenheit.
Tips for food prepara
tion include:
□ Wash hands for at least 20
seconds with soap and warm
water before and after cook
ing.
0 Wash countertops and
tables before and after cook
ing.
0 Wash fruits and vegeta
bles with cold running water
Best Cooks
In Perry!
oreen derby
WaoHiiHMK
boxes and distributed to
families in need throughout
Houston County by Venture
Crew 346, a new youth civic
club in Houston County, as
well as by Project Giving,
a civic group that spon
sors families for Christmas
through the Houston
County School System.
For their efforts, Houston
Healthcare EMS will receive
a fully stocked Braslow®/
Hinkle pediatric bag and a
TV/DVD combination unit
for the ambulance fleet. The
second place winner was
Putnam County EMS with
more than 1,500 canned
goods.
They also won a fully
stocked Braslow®/Hinkle
pediatric bag as well as a
Brady Pediatric Prehospital
Care Instructional Package.
Jasper County EMS won
third place with more than
800 canned goods. They
won a pediatric pack and a
jump bag.
before cutting or eating, and
remove any damaged areas
before eating.
□ When preparing both meat
and vegetables, use separate
cutting boards for each.
0 Defrost meats in the refrig
erator or microwave and then
cook immediately.
□ When using a marinade
for meat, it must be cooked
before being placed on cooked
meat.
D Cook foods to appropriate
temperature.
□ Marinades used on raw
meat or poultry should never
be reapplied to cooked foods.
0 Never place cooked meats
on dishes that previously
head raw meats.
0 Use a clean produce brush
to scrub fruit and vegeta
bles.
0 Dry produce with a paper
towel or clean cloth to reduce
any additional bacteria.
Tips for food safety while
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Houston Healthcare Emergency Medical Services staff members stand next to the 4,800 canned goods they recently
collected as part of the Cans for Kids Campaign.
eating away from home (on
picnics, car trips or sporting
events) include:
0 When transporting food,
make sure the cooler is clean
and dry before adding food.
0 Keep foods well wrapped
in plastic wrap or plastic con
tainers.
0 Keep foods cold with a
cooler, ice, ice packs or insu
lated bags.
0 Place meats at the bottom
of the cooler to prevent drips
onto other foods.
0 Pack two coolers - one for
food and another for bever
ages.
Q Store the cooler in the
coolest part of the car and
out of the sunlight.
0 Bring disposable hand
wipes for cleaning if soap and
water are not available.
0 Do not consume foods that
have been left out in hot
temperatures for more than
a few hours.
Urgent Care...
when you need it.
Houston Lake
Med-Stop
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'■ •**
r>om ruling you ran feel good about
HRfarmattu® /
in Hie nipt
issue of the
Ifouston Jtmw lour mat
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2007 ♦
Hilary Kate Ellwood, MD
Board Certified, American
Academy of Family Medicine
Kimberley R. Ham, MD
Board Certified, American
Academy of Family Medicine
Cynthia M. Jones, MD
Board Certified, American
Board of Family Medicine
Gayatri Kamat, MD
Board Certified, American
Board of Internal Medicine
Barbara A. Matthews, MD
Board Certified, American
Board of Family Medicine
Jodie Velie, MD
Board Eligible, American
Board of Family Practice
Ferial Walid, MD
Board Certified, American
Board of Family Medicine
9B
Contributed
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