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Fall Prevention: Why Top-Tier Communities Make it a Top Priority
Why do the leaders in the senior living industry make fall prevention a top priority? Simply put: they can’t afford not to.
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Falls are the leading cause of injury-related death among adults age 65 and older, and, according to the Center for Disease Control, the age-adjusted fall death rate is increasing.Â
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“In senior living communities, fall prevention is a vital aspect of serving and caring for residents,” said Taylor Dittmann, a Doctor of Physical Therapy with EmpowerMe Wellness. “Seniors and their loved ones are counting on their communities to proactively assess and address potential fall risks, which is why it’s so crucial for community leadership and staff to prioritize fall prevention for the health of residents and the community itself.”Â
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Benefits for Communities to Keep a Healthy Focus on Fall Prevention
Looking to add fall prevention programs to your senior living community? Partner with EmpowerMe to add preventive and therapeutic programs at no cost to you! Contact us today!
Prevent Hospitalization
Preventing falls means helping residents avoid expensive, lengthy hospital stays. Considering that falls are the cause of 95% of all hip fractures and make up approximately 49% of Cigna’s aging services claims, prevention can absolutely help seniors avoid further health complications and expenses. For the community, avoiding hospitalizations means keeping residents at home and not losing census to hospital stays or increasing care needs.
Create More Individualized Care
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Effective fall prevention programs not only include planned therapies and wellness activities that prevent falls, but also use periodic assessments to identify individual risk factors and gauge progress for each resident. With these assessments, therapists and caretaking staff members can better personalize care and adjust each resident’s daily activities, exercises, and even environment accordingly.
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Bring Related Issues to Light
‍Fall risk assessments often bring to light other areas of difficulty for the patient, such as impaired vision, hearing, medication side effects, bone health, and more. At EmpowerMe, our fall prevention programs track both the patient’s physical and cognitive health over time, providing helpful data about more than just physical risk factors for falls. With this data, we can effectively track patient progress in several key wellness areas.
Promote Independence
By focusing on fall prevention, residents can continue engaging in regular activities they enjoy — socializing, participating in helpful physical and cognitive therapies, and living at a pace of life they love.