Most children and some adults may not know what to do if they find a needle laying on the ground. Tomah Health Community Outreach staff took note of this important safety topic and provided tips on how to dispose of needles during the annual Monroe County National Night Out Aug. 6. “Kids and adults enjoyed learning about how to be protective of needles while playing our Plinko board game,” said Community Health educator Whitney Sanjari. “We even gave away some sharps containers to some of the adults.”
 
National health statistics show that seven-billion sharps are discarded in the trash each year and up to 850,000 people are injured every year by sharps that are not discarded properly. Sharps injury incident data from the International Safety Center Exposure Prevention Information Network (EPINet) show that injuries since the 1990s have declined due to the increased focus on the use of sharps injury prevention devices. Sanjari said used needles and other sharps are dangerous to people and pets if not disposed of safely because they can injure people and spread infections that cause serious health conditions. “It’s probably not a topic that most people and kids know about, so it was a great setting to share this important information,” she said.
 
More than 700 area residents attended the annual event billed to bring organizations together to share information on how to keep families safe.