Senator Introduces Measure to Educate
Seniors About Fall Prevention
Spectrum staff and wire
U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., has introduced a bill that would fund public education
and research on preventing seniors from falling.
The Elder Fall Prevention Act was introduced June 9 and referred to the Senate
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.
In a press release, Enzi said the research would look at the effect of falls
on Medicare and Medicaid costs.
“Anyone who has an elderly parent, relative or friend that lives alone
knows the concern that can be raised when a phone call placed to them goes unanswered,”
Enzi said.
“For many of our nation’s elderly, a fall can produce a very serious
injury, but the sooner we begin working to prevent falls, the sooner we can
ease our minds and those of the elderly about their safety and ability to get
around without assistance or support.”
Enzi said seniors who fall are expected to cost Medicaid and Medicare more than
$32 billion in 2020.
Each year, he said, about 16,000 people over 65 visit emergency rooms with traumatic
brain injuries resulting from falls.
In California, the director of the state Department of Aging said last week
that her agency recently shipped 1,000 fall-prevention videotapes as part of
an education campaign launched last summer.
“Nearly 30,000 older Californians suffer hip fractures and other fall-related
injuries each year at a cost to the state of nearly $1.75 billion,” CDA
Director Lynda Terry said. “The key to slowing and hopefully stopping these
preventable injuries and deaths is to get our prevention message out to seniors,
adults with disabilities, their families and caregivers.”
Kaiser Permanente produced California’s video and provided the copies for
CDA to distribute to senior centers and other sites throughout the state.
The video outlines simple steps that seniors can take to prevent falls, including
removing clutter in the home, using handrails and grab bars, eating properly
and keeping physically fit to maintain strength and balance.
CDA’s Web site, at www.aging.ca.gov,
includes a home safety checklist designed to help seniors prevent falls.
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