Serving Our Seniors Magazine Jan - Mar 2021

You’ve heard that line before, “Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” It’s a reality. Falls are the leading cause of injury-related emergency department visits, hospitalizations and deaths among older Ohioans. According to the 2019 Erie County Ohio Community Health Assessment, about one-in-five or 22% of Erie County adults had fallen in the past year, increasing to 28% of those ages 65 and over. From January to July 2020, the Huron Fire Department has been dispatched 148 times for a fall / lift assist. My point is this…. As you grow older, you increase your chances of falling unless you work to prevent it. I work with many client’s age 60+ after they have fallen. I recall one 64 year old, female, who lives alone. She was watching TV in her LazyBoy reclining chair and wearing loose fitting moccasin slippers. One night, as she got out of the chair to go to bed, she walked past the lever on the reclining chair. The back of her right moccasin was caught on the lever and she fell. Landing slightly on her right side she absorbed the fall with her right forearm and the momentum forward somehow smashed her glasses into her cheek. The cause for her fall was probably a culmination of many things – unsafe footwear, poor lighting, tiredness, decreased vision with trifocals, not paying attention to her environment and decreased strength/balance. Most people are not aware that after the age of 30, if we don’t intentionally exercise to preserve the muscle mass we have, we lose 3% to 5% of our muscle mass every decade, Marie (not her real name) was lucky. It took her six weeks to regain the use of her arm. Here is my advice to prevent falling in later life and is also recommended by the CDC. 1. Have your healthcare provider / pharmacist review your medicines for side-effects that could cause falling. 2. Ask your healthcare provider to refer you to physical therapy to assess and improve your strength/balance. 3. Have your eyes checked to ensure good vision. 4. Ask your healthcare provider to refer you to occupational therapy to assist with recommendations on making your home safer to prevent tripping/slipping. Falling is not a normal part of aging. It can be prevented! Serving Our Seniors can assist you with talking to your insurance carrier to see what services are covered to prevent falling in later life. Call our office at 419-624-1856. “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” by Melissa Gibboney, OTD, OTR/L a local practicing Occupational Therapist CONTEST!! Enter to win a $50.00 prize for guessing who is the “fallen model” in the picture. Send your best guess by including the “fallen model’s” first and last name. Tell us your name and phone number and send it to Serving Our Seniors, 310 E. Boalt Street, Sandusky, OH 44870 or Mail@ServingOurSeniors.org . Serving Our Seniors must receive your entry by January 28, 2021 to be entered. The winner will be drawn on January 29, 2021 at 4:45 p.m. If we can master the art of recording it on FACEBOOK LIVE, you can tune in at 4:45 p.m. 10