Washington DC – On Sunday, Sept. 22, the first day of fall, organizations in 47 states will observe the 6th annual national Falls Prevention Awareness Day by offering proven activities to help seniors stay safe. Every 15 seconds, an older adult is seen in an Emergency Department for a fall-related injury. Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries for people aged 65+. This year’s theme, Preventing Falls—One Step at a Time, seeks to unite professionals, older adults, caregivers, and family members to play a part in raising awareness and preventing falls in the older adult population. Our Wesley Homes community is working hard to partner with our residents and their care community to be strong and prevent falls. Here are some ways that our staff in Community Health Services work to help support our fall prevention initiative; We assess risk for falls when a resident moves into the community so that we have a sense of what's normal for a new resident. Then we reassess every six months or if there is a significant change in condition with our resident. We are moving to using the MACH 10 assessment tool which is evidence based and is the care standard. Our Wellness nurse follows up to every 911 emergency calls. They meet with our resident/family within 24 hours of return from the hospital if they go out. We staff our wellness clinic with a licensed nurse every day. Our wellness nurse is positioned to endorse activities that are appropriate for our residents and are aimed at keeping folks moving. We work collaboratively with our skilled Home Health team to identify challenges and problem solve together with our residents. We are in constant conversation with our care staff to help them identify their role in fall prevention. We collect and measure data as it relates to falls. We use the collected data to help us improve our service quality.
