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Hospitals seeing ‘significant’ increase in seasonal falls

2 min read
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Thursday morning’s icy refreeze caught many people off guard.

Dr. Brenda Walther, the medical director of Monongahela Valley Hospital, said emergency room staff saw 12 people, of varying ages, with injuries sustained from falls on ice.

“We saw our most ice-related injuries this winter (Thursday),” Walther said. “On Wednesday, people were planning for the weather. This refreeze caught everyone by surprise.”

Walkways, driveways and other hard surfaces were glazed with ice after low temperatures early Thursday froze the remnants of Wednesday’s storm.

Walther said her staff saw wrist, rib, lower leg and hip injuries.

“The falls haven’t been limited to the elderly,” she said. “My biggest recommendation is not to go out if you don’t have to.”

Walther also recommends wearing sensible shoes.

“You can fall in any shoe,”she said. “But now is not the time for dress shoes and high heels.”

While not every slip or fall requires medical attention, Walther said if you can’t bear weight, you need to been seen.

“Most minor things can be healed with ice and elevation,” she said.

Rodney Rohrer, the manager of Ambulance & Chair Service, which serves 27 municipalities in Washington County, said his crews received only two or three calls to respond to falls.

“It seems like people just stayed indoors,” Rohrer said.

The emergency department staff at Canonsburg Hospital reported numerous bruises, breaks and sprains from falls. Patty Toner, marketing manager for the hospital, said more than seven people came to Canonsburg Thursday after falling on ice.

“We’ve seen a significant increase in seasonal falls,” she said.

Joy Eggleston, senior public affairs officer for Southwest Regional Medical Center in Greene County, said this winter has been busy in general.

“They’ve seen a handful of slips and falls every week over the last month,” Eggleston said. “When conditions like this are in play, we see injuries. We remind people to be careful and to take it slow.”

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