The 50th anniversary of Poison Prevention Week is March 18-24, marking five decades of safer homes and saved lives. While much of the nationally-recognized effort has been directed at raising awareness with parents of small children, the veterinarians at Pet Poison Helpline remind us that pets are also vulnerable and susceptible to accidental ingestion of potentially life-threatening common items in the home.

“Pets are curious and often can’t resist smelling, tasting and sometimes swallowing foods, plants and other items in our homes that interest them,” said Ahna Brutlag, DVM, MS, and assistant director at Pet Poison Helpline.

In conjunction with Poison Prevention Week, Pet Poison Helpline has simplified the process of identifying potentially poisonous situations by categorizing them by room or area in which they reside.

Pet Poison Helpline suggests protecting your pets by poison-proofing your home, room by room, as follows.

February is the perfect time to highlight the relationships in our lives and how we relate to money within those relationships.  There are the relationships that we have with our partner, our kids and our aging parents.  Money is a topic that is oftentimes difficult to address, but is necessary in order to create strong interactions with our loved ones so that financial goals are being met.

Owensboro Medical Health System (OMHS) announced today that HealthGrades, a leading source of health care provider information, has named it a Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence for the fourth consecutive year.  The award places it among the top 5 percent of hospitals nationwide for clinical performance. OMHS is one of only two hospitals to receive this award in Kentucky.

HealthGrades Hospital Quality and Clinical Excellence study, released today, identifies those hospitals with the best overall clinical performance across 26 medical diagnoses and procedures that the organization rates. The 263 top-performing hospitals represent only 5 percent of the nation’s hospitals, and each is designated as a HealthGrades Distinguished Hospital for Clinical Excellence.