National Falls Prevention Awareness Day

Saturday, September 22, is the first day of Fall and marks the 10th annual National Falls Prevention Awareness Day.

This year’s theme, Take a Stand to Prevent Falls, seeks to unite professionals, older adults, caregivers, and family members to play a part in raising awareness and preventing falls in the older adult population.

As you might be aware, falls are the leading cause of injury related ER visits for older adults, the major cause of hip fractures, and responsible for more than half of fatal head injuries. Additionally, falls put an immense strain on the health care system, with the financial toll expected to reach $67.7 billion by 2020. The good news is falls are preventable, and the first step to prevention is understanding the risk and working closely with Occupational therapy and Physical therapy practitioners as key contributors to reducing falls.

Prime Rehabilitation Services helps older adults learn their fall risk and develops custom programs that can help them reduce their risk for falls. We recognize that falling and fear of falling may prevent older adults from staying active, which leads to reduced mobility, diminished quality of life and increases their risk of falling.  A simple quiz can easily determine if there is a risk of falling and zero in on areas that need attention.

We suggests these basic lifestyle and safety changes to help reduce risk or prevent falls:

• Consult with a Physical or Occupational Therapist to develop an exercise program to improve your leg strength & balance.
• Ask your doctor or pharmacist to review your medicines.
• Get annual eye check-ups & update your eyeglasses.
• Make your home safer by:

o   Removing clutter & tripping hazards.

o   Mount railings on all stairs, add grab bars in the bathrooms, put commonly used items within reach

o   Install proper lighting, especially on stairs.

 

Available Handouts by the National Council on Aging (NCOA).

•   6 Steps to Prevent a Fall Infographic
•   Debunking the Myths of Older Adult Falls
•   6 Steps to Protect Your Older Loved One from a Fall
•   Osteoporosis and Fall Prevention

We are asking older adults, caregivers, family members and health care professionals in our community to join us in raising awareness to prevent falls among older adults, please Take a Stand to Prevent Falls.