1 IN 4 OLDER ADULTS FALL EVERY YEAR
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed and launched a comprehensive elder falls toolkit for clinicians called Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths & Injuries or STEADI.
Falls are a common and serious health threat to adults 65 and older. Every year, more than 1 in 4 older adults falls, but more than half of those who fall don’t tell their healthcare provider. The Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths, and Injuries (STEADI) initiative was developed in response to this growing health threat. STEADI offers training and resources to help healthcare providers put fall prevention strategies into practice.
The STEADI Tool Kit is based on a simple algorithm (adapted from the American and British Geriatric Societies’ Clinical Practice Guideline). It includes basic information about falls, case studies, conversation starters , and standardized gait and balance assessment tests (with instructional videos). In addition, there are educational handouts about fall prevention specifically designed for patients and their friends and family.
We hope that the STEADI Tool Kit will help you incorporate fall risk assessment and fall prevention into your clinical practice, and enhance your efforts to help older adults stay healthy and independent.
FALL SCREENING TOOLS
FALL PREVENTION RESOURCES
Have you fallen, or are you worried that you might fall? Are you concerned that a friend, loved one or client is at risk? If so, you are not alone. Falls can happen anytime and anyplace, but most often they occur at home during everyday activities.
FALL PREVENTION CLASSES
As we grow older, our body’s muscles can start to weaken and joints may become stiffer. These growing pains can increase the risk of an older adult falling. Keeping active and exercising at a level fit for your fall risk is key to help prevent falling injuries.
RESOURCES
With winter on the way, it’s a good time to contact a professional heating contractor to have your natural gas heating equipment checked for safe and efficient operation. With heating
RECOVERY IS POSSIBLE
Safe communities has complied a list of abbreviation definitions for finding the right treatment for you.
MAT: Medication for Addiction Treatment.
OP: Outpatient Treatment – person lives at home or in the community, attends. individual and group therapy, these can include or not include MAT.
IOP: Intensive Outpatient Treatment – person lives at home or in the community, attends individual and extended groups, 9-12 hours a week.
Residential: person lives at the facility for a period of at least 14 days, some last as many as 45 days.
PHP: Partial Hospitalization Program is a structured mental health treatment program that runs for several hours each day, three to five days per week.
DBT: Dialectical behavior therapy is a form of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) that integrates mindfulness techniques.
