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Falls Prevention Awareness Takes a Community

Every September, we celebrate National Fall Prevention Awareness Week. This year’s dates are September 23–27. Governor Jay Inslee’s Falls Prevention Awareness Week proclamation raises awareness about the impacts of falls and prioritizes the health of our older Washingtonians.

We are fortunate our state has dedicated and passionate professionals and agencies that provide innovative and valuable programs to keep older adults healthy, safe, and as independent as possible as they age in place. One such organization is the King County Fall Prevention Coalition that, like other falls prevention coalitions around the state, meets monthly to offer community professionals the opportunity to collaborate and learn about different fall prevention and healthy aging programs. These meetings are a great opportunity to share best practices, resources, and relevant data (local, state, and national).

Maintaining strength, muscle and balance is extremely important as we age, and exercise is one of the most important things you can do to prevent falls. Washington state offers a wide range of evidence-based falls prevention classes, including EnhanceFitness^®, Tai Ji Quan: Moving for Better Balance^®, Stay Active and Independent for Life (SAIL), and The Otago Exercise Program, and our state has been a leader in the research and development of older adult fall prevention programs for many years.

The Washington State Department of Health (WSDOH) continues to fund and support many of these evidence-based exercise programs and in recent years, another program has provided free wall bars for low-income older adults in partnership with local hospitals and fire departments. The WSDOH also hosts quarterly Injury and Violence Prevention and Falls Prevention Technical Advisory meetings to highlight programming and innovations on a statewide level. For example, our Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and Fire Department first responders have been implementing Resource Navigator programs, dispatching Community Health Workers and Social Workers to follow up with older adults after a 911 call to improve home safety and develop fall risk mitigation strategies to reduce falls. This creates important and trusted relationships within the community and has been shown to be highly successful in reducing repeat 911 calls for falls.

Falls can also impact brain health and safety and often intersect with other healthcare factors, including vision loss, decreased hearing, chronic conditions like diabetes and Parkinson’s Disease, which impacts mobility. Awareness and knowledge about how to locate resources for those living with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Neurological disorders, or mental health challenges can help get the right care to the right people in our communities.

Many of us follow the Healthy People 2030 objectives and data. We received the latest report and were concerned that the Injury and Violence Prevention statistics indicate that falls in older adults are not meeting the targeted goals. We have the tools and agencies in place—we just need to keep our foot on the gas pedal and keep amplifying our work.

As Baby Boomers age, the older adult population continues to grow and so should our focus on the aspects of healthy aging. With simple measures such as intentional physical activity, engagement in social activities, home maintenance, and home safety to prevent falls, we can stay healthy, active, and independent as we age in place.

If we truly want to promote age friendly communities, and an Age-Friendly Washington, we need to develop public awareness, risk reduction strategies and interventions for safely aging in place (or in care facilities) for preventing older adult falls. In addition to the programs linked above, please refer to these resources:

• 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
• Brain Energy Support Team
• Brain Injury Alliance Washington
• Community Living Connections: 1-844-348-5464
• King County 211

As the saying goes, we are stronger together!

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Contributor Mary Pat O’Leary, RN, BSN and a senior planner with Aging and Disability Services, the Area Agency on Aging for Seattle-King County, extends her gratitude to Marla Emde, EMS/Trauma Injury Prevention Specialist, Health Systems Quality Assurance, Washington State Department of Health for reviewing and contributing to this article.

This article appeared in the September 2024 issue of AgeWise King County.