HHS Puts Muscle into Falls Prevention Programs

Calling falls prevention a national priority, the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Administration for Community Living (ACL), has announced the recipients of three falls prevention initiatives totaling up to $27.8 million over three years.

HHS said the funding will expand proven programs, strengthen connections between healthcare providers and community organizations, and help states and local partners reach more older adults before a fall leads to injury or loss of independence.

Non-fatal falls account for an estimated $80 billion in healthcare spending per year.

The three initiatives put prevention first and advance the Trump Administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda, HHS said.

To reduce the falls risk, these awards will expand two complementary approaches:

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths & Injuries (STEADI) initiative helps health care providers screen for, assess, and address fall risk.

  
  

• Stepping On, an evidence-based community falls prevention program, helps older adults improve strength and balance and address risks related to medications, vision, footwear, and home safety. Together, the approaches connect screening with action.

  
  

Three Investments, One Prevention Strategy

Goal: Scaling Through Clinical-Community Partnerships
Program: A Demonstration to Scale Innovative Person-Centered Approaches to Falls Prevention through Clinical-Community Partnerships
Recipient: National Council on Aging, Arlington, VA
Award: $4,781,733

The National Council on Aging will work to scale STEADI and Stepping On through clinical-community partnerships in five geographies. Rapid cycle evaluation will be used to improve the impact of the interventions as they are scaled.

Goal: Expanding Proven Programs Statewide

This funding will help states expand STEADI and Stepping On and address the many factors that increase fall risk. Recipients will strengthen referral networks, prepare more local organizations to deliver the programs, and share lessons with other states and communities.

Goal: Helping Communities Sustain What Works
Program: National Falls Prevention Resource Center
Recipient: National Council on Aging, Arlington, VA
Award: $7,500,000

The National Falls Prevention Resource Center will provide ACL’s aging and disability networks with training, tools, and individualized assistance to deliver and sustain high-quality falls prevention programs. It will also help organizations learn from one another and preserve the elements that make proven programs effective.

National Priority

Research shows that falls among older adults are preventable through person-centered, evidenced-based interventions. However, there are gaps in widespread adoption and implementation of these strategies, HHS said. Through ACL, HHS is coordinating a cross-agency effort, informed by the National Falls Prevention Action Plan. It unites ACL, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Health Resource and Services Administration, CMS’s Center for Clinical Standards and Quality, the National Institute of Aging, and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Together, these agencies will move beyond siloed approaches to deliver significant progress in reducing falls over the next three years, the agency said.

Learn more about ACL’s Falls Prevention Program here.

Comments or questions? Contact Patrick Connole at pconnole@parkplacelive.com.