Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day Safely
Courtney Carter
/ Categories: WELLNESS, 2024

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day Safely

St. Patrick’s Day is approaching. As you plan how you’ll celebrate the day, be sure to keep how you’ll get home safely when the fun is over.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drunk driving is a leading cause of accidents and deaths on St. Patrick's Day.

Between 2017 and 2021, 272 Americans died as a result of drunk-driving crashes during the St. Patrick’s Day holiday, with the highest percentage of accidents occurring on St. Patrick’s Day night.

Even if you’re not driving, it’s important to avoid overindulging, as walking while intoxicated can also be deadly. Drinking can impair your ability to assess the speed of approaching cars and slow your reaction time, making it difficult to cross roads safely. And the more you drink, the higher your risk. One study found that out of 176 pedestrian fatalities, 86 of those involved pedestrians who had been drinking, nearly all of whom had BACs of 0.10 percent or more.

 

There are ways to celebrate safely. These include:

  • Always drive 100% sober: Even one alcoholic beverage could be one too many. 

  • Plan ahead: Before you have even one drink, designate a sober driver to get you home safely. If you wait until you’ve been drinking to make this decision, you might not make the best one.

  • Be responsible: If it’s your turn to be the designated driver, take your job seriously and don’t drink. There are plenty of non-alcoholic beverages available that you will allow you to raise a glass and enjoy the fun without raising your blood alcohol content.

  • Make alternate plans. If your designated driver is unavailable, call a taxi or rideshare.

  • Set a limit. Before you head out, determine how many drinks you want to have in total throughout the day or how much you want to spend. Taking only the amount of cash needed for your plan or taking a pre-paid gift card can be a helpful signal it’s time to stop.

  • Pace yourself. Avoid drinking games and shots. Stick to one standard alcoholic beverage per hour with non-alcoholic drinks in between. Water is your friend.

  • Don’t forget to eat and stay hydrated. Breaking up your beverages with food and plenty of water will help your body handle alcohol better and ensure you enjoy the day a bit more safely.

  • Protect your friends (and others): If someone who has been drinking is about to drive, take their keys and find them safe transportation home. If you’re concerned someone has consumed alcohol to excess, seek emergency help. Finally, if you see someone driving drunk, contact local law enforcement.

 

You’re not spoiling the fun; you’re potentially saving a life.

 

Sean Burns, MD, is the SVMC EMS Medical Director/District 12 Medical Advisor. 

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Resuming Regular Care

So many important medical appointments were booked for March and April and canceled during the height of the pandemic. Now we are beginning to refocus on the fact that skipping appointments, even if you are feeling well now, could become harmful.

One important group of patients that we are eager to see are those with serious chronic conditions. These diseases require patients to see their primary care provider or a specialist at least once a year and sometimes far more frequently than that. Those with heart failure, kidney disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, for instance, all require regular contact with your provider.

Another group of patients we'd like to see are those with new medical concerns. We know that new medical concerns don't stop during a pandemic. Some conditions, like depression and anxiety, are far more prevalent during a pandemic than before. In many cases, new conditions are easiest to treat when patients first notice symptoms, and delaying care for these conditions can be dangerous.

Even regular care for those who are healthy is as important as ever. Other diseases—cancer in particular—haven't gone away. So, if you would normally be getting a screening such as a colonoscopy or mammogram, it's time to schedule an appointment. Many cancers can be detected and treated early with better outcomes. We can only expect those good results, if people are screened.

For children, regular vaccines are very important. If a big portion of the population neglects to get important childhood vaccines on schedule, we may be susceptible to outbreaks of measles or whooping cough.

There are many steps we have taken to improve safety for those seeking medical care. The first one is the availability of telemedicine. If the condition you are seeking treatment for does not require diagnostics or a physical exam, your provider can meet you virtually using any Internet-enabled device or over the phone. See details here.

If you do need to come to the office, you will notice check-ins at entrances, where staff check patients and visitors for respiratory symptoms and ensure that all are masked. You'll also notice efforts to space the waiting rooms to improve social distancing.

So how do you get the care you need?

  • If you have a primary care provider, call in to see what you may have missed during the pandemic. Did you miss an appointment to manage a chronic condition? Also share any new health concerns you have and check that you and your family members are up to date on all of your screenings and vaccinations.
  • If you don’t have a regular doctor, it makes sense to get one now. Locally, call the find-a-provider line at 802-447-5007 for a directory of practices that are accepting new patients.
  • Those with time-sensitive medical needs can use ExpressCare, a walk-in clinic, on the hospital campus in Bennington. Be sure to call ahead to 802-440-4077 if you have respiratory symptoms.
  • For Emergency Care, always come directly to the SVMC Emergency Department.

Most off all, we want our patients to know that we are here for them. There is no longer a need to delay medical care, whether for known conditions, new concerns, or preventive care. In every step we take, we are protecting patients against COVID-19 and helping patients with all of their other medical needs, too.

Bob Schwartz, MD, is associate medical director of Dartmouth- Hitchcock Putnam Physicians at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center in Bennington and a family medicine physician at SVMC Northshire Campus in Manchester.

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