Falls Prevention Awareness Day

The National Council on Aging (NCOA) uses the first day of fall, September 23, as an opportunity to raise awareness regarding elderly falls, with the goal of increasing prevention. While falls beginning is inevitable, many elderly falls are preventable.

The stats on senior falls are staggering:

• Of U.S. seniors over the age of 65, one in three will fall this year. Injuries sustained in a fall can be devastating, and even fatal.
• In our country, a senior citizen passes away every 20 minutes as a result of injuries sustained in a fall.
• Emergency room visits associated with falls occur every 13 seconds.
• Hospitals, nursing homes, and other care facilities typically have higher instances of falls than other environments, due to the clientele they commonly serve: seniors. Between 70,000 and 1 million falls occur in hospital settings yearly.

Falls Prevention Awareness Day is essential to educating seniors, the public, and professionals about the risks of falls and how falls can be prevented. Because so many falls occur in medical settings, it is critical that caregivers know how to prevent falls when possible, and how to appropriately respond when they occur.

For 2015, the NCOA has chosen the theme Take a Stand to Prevent Falls. The team at Pitman, Kalkhoff, Sicula & Dentice has previously noted that falls can be caused by medication, environmental dangers, and decreased physical activity.

Elderly falls can be prevented by a good exercise and balance program, a regular review of medications and side effects, and regularly getting vision and hearing tests.

According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, about 1,800 nursing home residents are fatally injured in falls each year. If you believe that your loved one suffered injuries as a result of a nursing home fall, contact our nursing home negligence attorneys for a free legal consultation. Our injury attorneys in Milwaukee, WI can help your loved one get the justice they deserve.

Contact Pitman, Kalkhoff, Sicula & Dentice, S.C. at  414-333-3333 or fill out a contact form.