This Saturday, we will celebrate the first day of fall, as well as National Falls Prevention Awareness Day in an effort to promote awareness on how to prevent and reduce falls among older adults and improve home safety.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one out of three adults age 65 and older will fall each year, and falls are the leading cause of injury death for older Americans.
In addition to the emotional and physical damage caused by a fall, it can result in debilitating injuries, such as broken hips and head trauma. More than 50 percent of older patients who survive hip fractures are discharged to a nursing home, and nearly half of these patients are still in a nursing home one year later.
Moreover, people who fall and lie helpless for hours or days can suffer serious complications, including dehydration, hypothermia, pressure ulcers, muscle breakdown and renal failure, according to Bruce Kinosian, a geriatrician and associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania.
How You Can Prevent Falls
Don’t become part of the statistic! Conduct your own home safety survey with our attached Fall Prevention Checklist, courtesy of the CDC. For additional tips on how to prevent falls, click here.
Clinical studies also indicate that use of a monitored Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS), such as those provided by Direct Link, can reduce mortality rates by nearly four times and reduce hospital utilization by 59 percent!
Be proactive about the health and home safety of you and your loved ones! Just a few minutes today could save you or your loved one’s life!