From USA Today on falls by Janet Kornblum...here's a portion. Really shows how critical it is to pay attention to this.
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Seniors falling "is a large, growing and, quite frankly, underreported health issue," says Elizabeth Wilson, spokeswoman for the National Safety Council, based in Chicago.
In fact, falls are the leading cause of injury deaths among people 65 and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2005, 15,800 people 65 and older died from injuries related to falls, and about 1.8 million were treated in emergency rooms for such injuries, the CDC says. In 2000, falls cost $19.2 billion.
Often, falls lead to a downward health spiral because a senior has lost his or her mobility, Wilson says.
One in four people who have a hip fracture will die within a year from the fall, Wilson says. Another 50 percent will never return to the level of mobility before the fall.
And a CDC study released this month indicates that 5.8 million (15.9 percent) of adults 65 and older in the USA fell at least once during the preceding three months. Of those, 1.8 million sustained an injury that resulted in a doctor's visit or restricted activity for at least one day.
As the nation's 79 million baby boomers head into their senior years, health experts worry that falls will escalate.
John E. Temple, Jr.
Co-founder of A Place for Mom