Go Red for Women

Contributed by Kat Spitz, First Aid / CPR instructor, Evergreen Safety Council

In an effort to raise awareness that heart disease is the number one killer of women (it kills more women than all forms of cancer – combined!), the American Heart Association (AHA) devised the Go Red for Women Campaign. 

National Wear Red Day is February 3^rd, 2012! 

Even the popular new hit show Hot in Cleveland starring Betty White tackled this issue on a recent episode of the show (air date: 1/18/12 – you can watch the episode).

While most women admit to worrying about breast cancer which affects thousands, many are unaware of the hundreds of thousands of women killed by heart attacks each year.  Too often, women don’t realize that they are suffering from a heart attack; therefore, many don’t seek help until it is too late.  In addition to the “classic” symptoms that men almost exclusively suffer (chest pain/pressure, shortness of breath, pain down the left arm possibly spreading to the jaw, neck and shoulders, nausea), women’s symptoms can also include indigestion, backache, dizziness and fatigue - not usually symptoms that would send us running to the emergency room!

The AHA states that 80% of heart attacks in women can be prevented by making the right choices when it comes to diet, exercise (do) and smoking (don’t)! 

Visit http://www.goredforwomen.org/about_heart_disease_and_stroke.aspx for more information on how to fight cardiovascular disease and how to send 5 people you love (or at least like a little) information on heart disease with a free Go Red Heart Health Kit!

You can also help raise awareness by “Liking” their Facebook page and, of course, by wearing Red on February 3^rd!

Women are dying at the rate of one per minute because they don’t know what you know: heart disease kills.  Help spread the word!

Work stress puts women at risk for heart disease: study

Women with demanding jobs but little control over their daily work have an 88 percent higher risk of heart attack than women with low job strain, indicates new research from Harvard Medical School in Boston.

Researchers analyzed job strain among 17,415 middle-aged health professionals enrolled in a long-running study of women's health. Women in stressful jobs had a 40 percent increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart attack, stroke, coronary artery bypass surgery and death, according to a press release from the Dallas-based American Heart Association.

In addition, fear of losing one's job was associated with increased blood pressure, cholesterol and body weight – risk factors for heart disease.

The research was presented Nov. 15 at the AHA Scientific Sessions 2010.

Courtesy of National Safety Council

2009 Injury & Fatality Statisics Overview

Our Safety Intern Mary Czaja has been pulling lots of interesting worker injury and fatality facts off of the LNI website. They have released the 2009 statistics, which we are beginning to incorporate into our training classes.

Fatal work injuries 2009:
66 men
9 women
75 total
More men died at work, but a higher percentage of assaults and transportation incidents deaths were to women.

Percentages:
Assaults and violent acts: 56% Women, 26% Men
Transportation incidents: 44% Women, 29% Men

By occupation (total):
Professional and business services: 7
Trade, transportation, and utilities: 20
Manufacturing: 3
Construction: 10
Natural resources and mining: 17

By Age:
Under 16: 0
16 to 17: 0
18 to 19: 0
20 to 24: 8
25 to 34: 13
35 to 44: 20
45 to 54: 15
55 to 64: 9
65 and over: 9

You can find a lot more injury data and statistics on LNI's website.

Women in Transportation

Contributed by Sandy Paquette, Trainer, Evergreen Safety Council

Mary Walton reacting to the rampant air and noise pollution that resulted from the Industrial revolution made major technical contributions that improved the quality of life in New York City.

In 1897, Mary received patent #221,880 for a method of deflecting smokestack emissions through water tanks to capture pollutants, which were then carried by the water through the city sewage system. She adapted the system for the use on locomotives as well.

Later, Mary turned her attention to noise pollution. In the 1880’s many cities developed a mass transit system using elevated trains. These trains produced intolerable levels of noise. Living in Manhattan, Mary set out to solve the problem by setting up a model railroad in her basement. She used the model to develop a sound-dampening system that cradled the track in a wooden box lined with cotton and then filled with sand. After successful field trails that fitted her apparatus under the struts on existing elevated track, Mary Walton received patent # 327,422 for the system on February 8, 1881.

Olive Dennis was the Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) Railroads’ engineer of service and held patents for several rail-related inventions. She was the second woman to graduate from Cornell with a civil engineering degree and held a master’s degree in mathematics and astronomy form Columbia University.

In September 22, 1920, Olive began working for the B&O Railroad designing bridges as a draftsman in the engineering department. Fourteen months later, the president of B&O designated Olive the engineer of service. Her responsibilities were to improve passenger service on the B&O. She rode more than 5,000 miles of B&O track covering 44,000 miles the first year and nearly that much each year afterwards.

Between 1920 and 1951, Olive contributed to passenger comfort in many ways. Among her patents is the Dennis ventilator, which was inserted in the window sashes of passenger cars and controlled by passengers. Other areas to which she contributed were the inclusion of air-conditioned coaches, dimmers on overhead lights, individual reclining seats, and stain-resistant upholstery.

Olive Dennis is one of the notable women who worked in the American railroad industry. She became the first female member of the American Railway engineering Association. During her long career with the B&O, she never felt that gender stood in the way of advancement.

Resources/Picture: Federal Highway Administration

Women in Transportation

Contributed by Sandy Paquette, Trainer, Evergreen Safety Council

Transportation has long been considered a man’s field, but throughout time, women have made significant contributions to the transportation industry and laid the ground work for future innovation. Since the time when travel was dominated by walking, horse-drawn carriages, sailing ships, railroads, automobiles and aviation women have been a part of innovations, explorations, and manufacturing of transportation.

They became streetcar conductors, taxi cab drivers, business managers, commercial airline checkers, aerodynamic engineers, and railroad workers. Women operated machinery, buses, cranes, and tractors. They unloaded freight, worked in lumber and steel mills. They tested new airplanes, ferried aircraft and served as flight instructors for the military.

Brooklyn Bridge Construction

Emily Roebling became the surrogate Chief Engineer for the bridge between 1872 and its opening in 1883. Her husband, Washington A. Roebling, fell victim to caisson disease (decompression sickness) during construction if the Manhattan caisson, 78 feet beneath the surface of New York’s east River. This disease left Colonel Roebling paralyzed partly blind, deaf, and mute. To keep the bridge construction in the Roebling name, Emily Roebling continued the work of her husband. Colonel Roebling taught his wife higher mathematics, strength of materials, stress analysis, bridge specifications, and the complexities of cable construction. Although her training was informal, Mrs. Roebling is considered the first women engineer, and she was, in essence, in charge of day-to-day construction of the Brooklyn Bridge.

When the Brooklyn Bridge was opened on May 24, 1883, it was heralded as one of the most important construction projects of the 19th century. At the opening ceremonies, Congressman Abram S. Hewitt praised Emily Roebling for he role in serving as the link between Washington A. Roebling and the construction crew.

Elizabeth Bragg was the first woman in the Untied States to receive a civil engineering degree when she graduated form the University of California at Berkeley in 1876.

Elmina Wilson
In 1892, Elmina graduated from Iowa state College civil engineering programs. She went on to become the first female instructor at the college until she withdrew in 1905.

Resources are from the Brooklyn Museum and the Federal Highway Administration.