Honeycomb Safety

Honeycomb Safety was created by Janet Wang, MPA, a highly experienced safety professional with over 15 years of experience.  Some of her experiences include:

• • Director of Safety Programs at one of the largest healthcare systems based in New York City managing programs to prevent injuries and accidents for thousands of  New Yorkers.   
  • Lead Infection Control and Safety Director for the COVID-19 Hotel Programs in New York City during the pandemic.  She developed, implemented, and managed the Environmental Health and Safety and Infection Prevention and Control programs during the first COVID-19 wave in NYC.  The program helped over 30,000 New Yorkers safely heal and recover from COVID-19.  
  • Published writer in leading healthcare journals including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA). 
  • Some of her affiliations and certifications:
    • • Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
      • NYC Office of Emergency Management (OEM)
      • NYS and NYC DOHMH (Department of Health and Mental Hygiene)
      • Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Joint Commission
      • Fire Department of New York (FDNY)
      • Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER)
  • Her biggest accomplishment is becoming a mom and keeping her family safe!

“Safety Top Tips” are tips on how to keep families safe in your home and environment.  The Top Safety Tips are solutions and evidence-based best practices within the Safety world and injury prevention.  Honeycomb Safety will work to cater to and share these tips with you to guide and show you how to use them to safeguard your family.

#SafetyTopTips

What is an Unintentional Injury or an accident?

Unintentional Injury or an “accident” is an injury not inflicted by deliberate means.  It is the leading cause of injury and death among babies, toddlers, and children in the United States.  Every hour, one child dies from an unintentional injury.  Every 4 seconds, a child is treated for an unintentional injury in an emergency department. 

What is the top unintentional injury that happens to children?

The type of injuries for children depends on their age.  For children less than one year old, the leading cause of death is suffocation;  however, the leading cause of death for children among 1-4 year-olds is by drowning (more info below).  For children from 5-19 year-olds, the leading cause is caused by motor vehicles and the improper use of car seats, booster seats, and seat belts.   

If my child is 3 years old, what unintentional injury is at their highest risk and what can I do to prevent it?

As stated above, for children aged 1-4 years old, the leading cause of death is by drowning.  By learning and following the following #SafetyTopTips, you can help avoid a preventable accident in your environment: 

1. 1. Learn basic swimming.  Swimming lessons save lives.  
   2. Supervise closely when in/near water, such as bathtubs.  Don’t leave young children unattended to cook, answer phones, etc.  Drowning happens quickly and quietly.
   3. Restrict access to water by closing and locking doors.  Especially when visiting other homes or unfamiliar locations (such as house rentals and short-term stays).  
   4. When group swimming- designate an adult to be the “Watcher.” This watcher supervises the children when they are in/near water and should be clearly identified within the group.

      Example:  Janet,  who’s wearing a red shirt, is the watcher from 1:00 – 2:00 PM.      

   5. Always wear a life jacket while in/around natural water.  Air-filled or foam toys are 
      not alternatives to life jackets because they are not reliable safety devices.

What type of unintentional injuries can happen in a home?

The #1 cause of unintentional injuries in an environment is related to falls for all ages, including adults.  For children less than one year old, almost 50% of injuries are due to falls.  In the U.S. over 2.8 million children visited Emergency Rooms for fall-related injuries and in 2010, 40% of those children were toddlers.  

This data sounds frightening but it doesn’t have to be.  Honeycomb helps you identify, reduce, and help eliminate those hazards in your environment.  We are here to empower you to be in control of your family’s safekeeping.  

Are accidents really preventable?

True accidents rarely occur because statistics show that over 90% of accidents are predictable and, therefore, preventable.  Accidents follow behaviors and most behaviors have patterns.  As a result, behaviors and patterns are controllable with intent and practice.  With knowledge, effort, and guidance, you can prevent most accidents.

Data shows that most injuries occur in or around your home and environment because that is where you spend most of your time.  By keeping your environment safe, you can avoid most accidents to safeguard your family’s well-being.

What is Family Safety Sustainability?

Family Safety Sustainability (FSS) is safeguarding your family in your environment, long-term.  Kids grow and change every day and there are no shortcuts to keeping them injury-free, you must keep up and evolve with them as they grow.  The mission of Honeycomb Safety is for families to reach FSS by eliminating risks in their environment.  This can be done by identifying, reducing, and preventing hazards before they can happen to continuously safeguard those who are the most important to us.    

What is SafetyTopTips? 

SafetyTopTips is the top safety tips and solutions based on best practices and evidence-based data on how to reduce risks in your environment to make it safe.  The tips are crafted by Janet Wang, MPA, Chief Safety Officer of Honeycomb Safety, who has over 15 years of experience in managing and implementing safety programs in the biggest healthcare systems in the U. S. 

Looking forward to making your home safe together!