Fall Prevention Resources

It might seem like a simple stumble...but studies show that even the slightest of falls can cause a senior to lose mobility forever.

Fractured hips and broken bones can do more than reduce a person's quality of life...they sometimes prove to be fatal. It's a little known fact that falls are the leading cause of injury-related visits to emergency centers in the United States and the primary cause of accidental deaths in persons over the age of 65 years.

• Approximately 50% of elderly who sustain a fall-related injury will be discharged to a nursing home rather than returning home.

• 25% of those who fracture a hip as result of a fall will require life-long nursing care.

As a part of our in-home assessment for home care, Responsive Home Health will provide a home safety assessment and make recommendations for minor changes that will allow you or your loved one to be safer at home. We can further help reduce the risk of falling by providing additional care. Call us today at 954-486-6440 for information on how to remain safely at home.

Causes of Slips and Falls:

• Neuromuscular Diseases such as Parkinson's Disease

• Cognitive Impairment such as Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease

• Visual Impairment

• Balancing Issues

• Medication Interactions and Side Effects

• Hazards in the Home

What we can do to help prevent them:

• Our Staff can assess the home environment to make sure all hazards are removed from the living area and make suggestions to improve safety.

• Review list of medications to identify high risks.

• Recommend appropriate Durable Medical Equipment.

• Encourage and help with exercises to improve strength and stability

• Assist in safe transferring to avoid falls and injuryFor fall prevention resources in Broward County please Click Here.

   

Downloadable Tools and Tips:
Click the links to view or right click to print or save to your computer.

• Factors Contributing to a Fall PLUS Ways to Help Prevent a Fall
• Improving Balance to Prevent a Fall
• Tips for Preventing Falls

Web Resources:
Click the links below to access resource Web sites to find out more about ways to prevent a fall.

6 Ways to Reduce Your Falling Risk
The Mayo Clinic offers some useful tips and pointers to help people prevent falls by implementing some simple fall-prevention measures.

Stopfalls.org
As the official Web site of the Fall Prevention Center of Excellence, Stopfalls.org strives to identify best practices in fall prevention and to help communities offer fall prevention programs to older people who are at risk of falling. The link below is an overview of the basics of fall prevention.

Preventing Falls: Which Intervention is Most Effective?
This informative article from the American Academy of Family Physicians studies and compares cases of several different interventions that have successfully reduced the incidence of falls among elderly people living at home. Best results were found to be a combination of exercise plus vision intervention plus hazard management.

Center for Disease Control and Prevention
There are many resources contained here on how to identify elderly who are at risk for falls, and how to prevent falls in those individuals.

Tremblay, K. R. and C. E. Barner, “Preventing Falls in the Elderly,” Colorado State University Extension
This article has very good information in a concise format on causes and prevention of falls in the elderly population.

The American Geriatric Society, AGS Foundation for Health in Aging consumer pamphlet "A patient's guide to preventing falls"
An informational pamphlet on preventing falls in the geriatric community.

The American Geriatric Society Foundation of Health in Aging
An informational pamphlet on ways to improve balance in 10 minutes a day.

Serving all of Broward County, Responsive Home Health provides a full spectrum of home care services. We offer a free in-home consultation to evaluate needs and free in-home safety assessment to help prevent falls. Please contact us to set up a free in-home consultation and find out if home health care is the right choice for your unique situation. Call (954)-486-6440, email us, or fill out our request services form.