• Playing WHAT IF? WHAT IF you started your staff meeting with a WHAT IF question? WHAT IF our garbage did not get picked up for the next six weeks? What would we do? WHAT IF we came to work and found a huge bear in our breakroom? WHAT IF our very best client needed us to help serve coffee during an event on a Sunday afternoon? It could be interesting to see what your team might say in response to these questions. Brainstorming sessions can be great fun if we allow ourselves the freedom to be spontaneous with absolutely no commitment to an outcome. WHAT IF you gave this a try at your next meeting? 

• Office tournaments and competitions. Set up a mini ping pong table and have a tournament. Set a walking contest to get co-workers up from their desks. Create a virtual map and track the steps each week. 

Or, consider having your company host a fundraiser with family-friendly games and competitions for a local charity. Simple prizes and awards make events like this even more fun. Everyone likes to be part of something. Create ways for your team to get those creative juices flowing, let them plan the stations and prizes, and GET OUT & PLAY! 

Best,

Renee Schofield

Guarding Against Slips, Trips and Falls

We’re heading into Slip, Trip and Fall season! With frost and snow just around the corner, this is a good time to offer some workplace training to avoid potential accidents. Slips, Trips and Falls (STFs) are the second leading cause of workplace injuries and are responsible for nearly 700 workplace fatalities each year. That’s 15% of workplace deaths. Those statistics should grab your attention. Even if most accidents result in minor injuries, ANY injury is one we’d like to prevent.

A slip is when your foot loses traction with the walking surface. This results in a sudden loss of balance. Slips can happen on icy walking surfaces, a newly waxed floor, wet leaves, etc.

A trip happens when your leg or foot comes into contact with a hazard, either an object or an uneven surface. Tripping hazards could include drawers that are left open, uncovered hoses or electrical cords across walking areas, unmarked steps or ramps as well as clutter in the hallway or on the stairs.

Falls are broken into two categories, (1) same level and (2) elevated. A same level fall happens when a person falls from a standing position to the floor. An elevated fall happens from a ladder, scaffolding or an opening in the floor.

Find a Community Health Fair Near You

TSS Ketchikan will hold its Health Fair from November 1 - 17. Hours are 8 a.m. to noon, Monday through Friday, no appointment necessary. And remember to FAST! 

TSS, Inc. Ketchikan has been a participant in the Ketchikan Community Health Fair for more than 21 years 

A Health Fair is a great way to get a snapshot of what is going on in your body and what you may need to be paying attention to. At least once at every annual health fair, our team helps someone become aware of a health issue that they did not realize they had. We have been able to direct them to a doctor who guides them in either managing that problem or, in some instances, get them to the specialist they need for treatment. 

Popular packages at Health Fairs may include a Women’s or Men’s package, or one that focuses on Thyroid or Vitamin D. We have offered Covid Antibody testing and Hepatitis C testing in years where these were tests that were in the forefront of people’s minds. Most packages require fasting, which means no food or drink with calories for up to 12 hours before testing. Be sure to check before you show up!

Safe Disposal of

Prescription Drugs

Just about everyone has old antibiotics, pain relievers and other prescription medications gathering dust in their medicine cabinet. While these drugs are intended to support your health, they may be dangerous or even deadly when they end up in the wrong hands. So clearing out your medicine cabinet every so often should be part of your routine.

According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, nearly 20 million people in the United States misuse prescription drugs and most of these come from family and friends. Between 1999 and 2019, 841,000 people died from drug overdoses. Of those, 247,000 people died from overdoses involving prescription drugs.

Getting unused or expired medications out of your home is one way to prevent prescription misuse among those with access to your medicine cabinet. But you should also consider the safety of the wider community when you get rid of them.

Red Ribbon Week 2023

Each year, communities across the country and our team at TSS, commemorate Red Ribbon Week October 23 - 31st.

The mission of this annual campaign is to help kids stay drug-free, so they can be the best they can be now and into the future. Keep in mind, that research overwhelmingly shows that young people who refrain from substance use are less likely to grow into adults with substance abuse problems.

This year’s theme for Red Ribbon Week is "Be Kind to Your Mind. Live Drug Free," as a reminder that drug use can have devastating effects on brain development in young people.

Halloween Safety Tips

Halloween is one of the most fun times of the year for kids, but it can also get pretty spooky out there if you don't take care. Here, the TODAY Show

shares some helpful recommendations for preventing accidents and injuries during the holiday.

Coaching Corner: Be Who You Are Meant to Be

By Renee Schofield, NO SPEED LIMIT

As a certified health and wellness coach, I am always gathering resources to help people live their best life.



Who are you meant to be? Who do you desire to be? Are you stuck in the humdrum of just making a living, getting a job done to get a paycheck? What would it feel like if you viewed your work through the lens of the customer who receives the benefit of your work? If you saw your work as a customer who is delighted with the result, how might you feel about what you have accomplished in your career? Would you feel like you are where you want to be doing what you want to be doing?

These are BIG questions that take more than a simple article to answer and ones that I cannot answer for you. I believe it comes down to your WHY. When we are young, we want to be police officers, teachers or movie stars. But, then life happens and many of us end up doing something very different to what we imagined we would be doing. ALL GOOD. But if you still dream of something different, it’s not too late!