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"THE HEART OF THE MATTER"
a special program of the National Emergency Medicine Association (NEMA)

Week: 578.1

Guest: Ron Hazelton, The House Doctor, Home & Garden TV

Topic: Using a ladder

Host/ Producer: Steve Girard

NEMA: Do you know how to use a ladder...coming up...

SPOT: For 15 years, the National Emergency Medicine Association has worked against stroke, heart disease and trauma. Join the effort, call 800-332-6362.

NEMA: Painting the house? Cleaning out raingutters? Do you know how to use a ladder? Ron Hazelton, Home & Garden TV's "House Doctor" tells us...

HAZELTON: Here's what you do. You lay the ladder up against the side of the house, make sure its got a good solid surface to rest on at the top, the bottom is secure. Stand with both of your feet, your toes touching the base of the ladder, stand upright and stretch your arms out straight. If the ladder is at the right angle your hands should come to rest right on one of the rungs. If you find that your elbows are bent then the angle of the ladder is too severe. If you can't reach that rung it means that the angle is too flat.

NEMA: And when you're up on the ladder....

HAZELTON: A good rule here is to keep your hips between the rails of the ladder. Those are the two upright pieces that the rungs go between. So don't reach so far that your hips would move outside those two rails either the left or right.

NEMA: Remember, it doesn't take a big drop to cause big injuries. I'm Steve Girard at The Heart of the Matter.