Locals ready to assist this Falls Prevention Awareness Week!
September 5, 2022
While ALTCEW provides connections to national resources, preventing falls is a local issue. The City of Spokane and Spokane Valley fire departments report that “older adult falls are the leading cause of injury-related hospitalizations and deaths in Spokane County.”
You can talk with people here, locally about falls prevention in your situation.
- Falls Prevention staff members at ALTCEW. Call 509-458-2509 and ask for the Falls Prevention office to support you in creating your own falls prevention plan or to address your concerns about falling.
- Your healthcare providers. Talk with them about falls, near falls or unsteadiness; appropriate wellness checks (including eyesight and hearing); and potential side effects or interactions for your medications that could influence your ability to balance.
- Your local fire department. Ask them for help making a fire escape plan to reduce your falls risk in case of an emergency.
- Many others in Eastern Washington who are invested in decreasing the number of falls older adults take and their consequences, for example instructors who present evidence-based programs such as Stay Active and Independent for Life (SAIL) and Tai Ji Quan: Moving for Better Balance.
Falls are NOT a normal part of aging. Make a plan and take healthy action to reduce your risk of falling while staying active, engaged, and independent.
