The 50th anniversary of Poison Prevention Week is March 18-24, marking five decades of safer homes and saved lives. While much of the nationally-recognized effort has been directed at raising awareness with parents of small children, the veterinarians at Pet Poison Helpline remind us that pets are also vulnerable and susceptible to accidental ingestion of potentially life-threatening common items in the home.

“Pets are curious and often can’t resist smelling, tasting and sometimes swallowing foods, plants and other items in our homes that interest them,” said Ahna Brutlag, DVM, MS, and assistant director at Pet Poison Helpline.

In conjunction with Poison Prevention Week, Pet Poison Helpline has simplified the process of identifying potentially poisonous situations by categorizing them by room or area in which they reside.

Pet Poison Helpline suggests protecting your pets by poison-proofing your home, room by room, as follows.

Memorial Hospital and Health Care Center’s Skilled Caring Center was awarded the highest ranking of five stars overall in U.S. News & World Report’s 2012 Best Nursing Homes, available online at www.usnews.com/nursinghomes. Only about one in eight nursing homes met this standard in all four quarters of 2011.

U.S. News’s Best Nursing Homes profiles more than 15,500 facilities and ranks them by state, using data and quality ratings from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which sets and enforces quality standards for all homes enrolled in Medicare or Medicaid. Nursing homes receive an overall rating of one to five stars from the government based on the number of stars earned in three other categories: health inspections, nurse staffing, and quality of care.  Memorial received three of five stars in the latter category and 4 of 5 in health inspections (see their rating breakdown here).