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Holiday safety tips available For more information about holiday safety, visit the Wellness Wednesday booth from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Dec. 13 in the Main Hospital Lobby. Information will be provided on personal, travel, property, and shopping safety. A drawing will be held for a reflective vest. For added safety at home during the holidays: Be extra cautious about locking doors and windows at all times. The holidays are a good time to update or create your home inventory. Take photos or videos of the items and list the serial numbers. After Christmas, don't advertise your new electronics and/ or other new valuables that you just received by putting the boxes out on the curb for the garbage collectors. Break the boxes down and fold them to where the words are on the inside. For added safety while traveling: Always inform a family member or friend of your travel route, as well as the expected time you will arrive at your destination. Don't forget to have mail and newspaper delivery stopped. If it piles up, it's a sure sign no one's home. For added safety while shopping: Never park your car in an unlit area, no matter how convenient it is. Avoid carrying large amounts of cash. Pay for purchases with a check or credit card whenever possible. Be extra careful with purses and wallets. Carry a purse under your arm with the strap across your body. Keep a wallet in an inside jacket pocket, not a back trouser pocket. Teach your children to go to a store clerk or security guard and ask for help if they should become separated in a store or shopping mall. They should never go into a parking lot alone. Keep all items locked in the trunk or out of sight. Keep doors locked at all times. More information can be obtained by contacting the MUSC Dept. of Public Safety at: Medical University of South Carolina, Department of Public Safety, 101 Doughty Street, Charleston, S.C. 29425 or visit http://www.musc.edu/publicsafety.    Editor's note: The preceding column was brought to you on behalf of Health 1st. Striving to bring various topics and representing numerous employee wellness organizations and committees on campus, this weekly column seeks to provide MUSC, MUHA, and UMA employees with current and helpful information concerning all aspects of health. Friday, Dec. 8, 2006 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.