Fall Prevention Awareness Month

Photo courtesy of www.healthcommunities.com.

Preventable falls continue to remain a dominant issue with older generations.  According to the County Health Officials of New York, “falls are the leading cause of injury deaths, hospitalizations and emergency department visits among adults 65 and older.” As a result, fall prevention has quickly become a leading program throughout communities and healthy aging a priority across the United States.

One in seven Americans is at least 65 years of age. The population over 85 years old is projected to increase from about 56 million in 2012 to 14 million in 2040. More than 3 out of every 10 seniors will be admitted to the hospital each year. About 4 million seniors in the US live below the poverty line. About half of all African American seniors in the US rate their overall health and well-being as fair or poor. (Ref: Dept US Health & Human Services).

At Whittier Street Health Center, we bring together a multidisciplinary team to help you or your loved one in living healthy lives throughout their senior years. Whittier includes a weekly senior health clinic with special medical, social worker and pharmacist attention.  We also have physical therapy, behavioral health, eye care, dental, pharmacy, acupuncture, nutrition counseling, chronic disease management groups and much more. We aim to provide holistic care to keep you doing whatever is important to you or your loved one. One of our focus areas is helping you to remain independent and out of the hospital by helping to prevent falls. We will be partnering with Tufts Health Foundation, The Prevention Wellness Trust Foundation and Ethos through awarded grants to help optimize our services to you.

If you or your loved one would like to schedule an appointment, have questions or would like to share feedback about something you’d love to see offered as part of our senior care, please contact Yinette Fuertes, Cardiovascular Clinical Case Manager, at 617-989-3197. May you and your family live healthy lives at every age!

Photo courtesy of the California Department of Aging, www.aging.ca.gov