SVMC Wellness Connection: Oct. 25

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October 25, 2024

Safety Tips for Making Halloween a Little Less Spooky

As you ready your little ghouls and goblins for trick-or-treating, it’s important to review basic safety rules to help ensure their holiday is scary in the best possible ways. 

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Empowering Voices and Movement for People with Parkinson's

 

For people with Parkinson’s disease and other neurological conditions—including, but not limited to, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and ataxia—accomplishing daily tasks and even speaking clearly can be a challenge. Exciting new treatment options now available at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center’s Outpatient Rehabilitation offer hope and tangible improvements.

 

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8 Tips for Safely Exercising Outdoors After Dark

 

As exhilarating as exercising in the dark can be, it’s also a safety hazard. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, over 80% of pedestrian traffic fatalities occur at night or in low-light conditions. As the number of daylight hours wanes, it pays to take extra precautions to keep yourself safe.

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Tips for Successfully Helping Your Child "Fall Back" During Daylight Savings

 

Transitioning to daylight savings can be tricky for babies and children whose sleep schedule thrives on routine. But, with a little advance preparation, you can make “falling back” easier for all.

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Homes for Bats on Halloween

MONTPELIER, Vt. — The onset of fall sends Vermont's bats into motion, which makes it an important time for conservation-minded Vermonters to learn about, and help conserve, our nine native bat species.
 
If you have noticed bats roosting in your attic, barn or office over the summer, fall and spring are the perfect times to safely evict these uninvited guests from your property.  Bats migrate between winter and summer roosts during the fall and spring and do not have vulnerable young at these times.  You can learn how to safely evict bats from your building at the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department's best management practices page.
 
You can also help bat conservation efforts by reporting large colonies of bats living in structures to the department's website.  Locations with rare colonies of endangered little brown bats are eligible for free bat houses from Vermont Fish and Wildlife.
 
Bat houses provide an alternative location for safely evicted bats to remain in your yard and continue eating huge quantities of insects that may be forest, agricultural or human pests.  Variety is important, so placing at least two bat houses with variable solar exposure to help bats find the right temperature ranges throughout the summer helps bats raise their young successfully.  Information on successful bat house design and placement can be found at https://www.merlintuttle.org/selecting-a-quality-bat-house
 
Bat houses can be put up any time of year but do require some simple maintenance.  Late fall or winter is the time to look up inside your bat house and make sure all the bats have left before cleaning out any abandoned wasp nests and planning any needed caulking or repainting.
 
"Fall also means Halloween, and scary images of bats, but this presents an opportunity to bring positive attention to bats as well," said Vermont Fish and Wildlife Small Mammals Biologist Alyssa Bennett.  "We celebrate 'Bat Week' in the days leading up to Halloween."  
 
Bat Week takes place October 24-31 and aims to raise awareness about the vital ecological functions of bats and to dispel the many myths and misinformation about them.
 
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