Nurses conduct fall safety assessment

Nurse Next Door’s Fall Prevention Program sends staff trained in fall prevention into local homes to conduct free home safety assessments for seniors.

“We are making the lives of local seniors safer by checking their homes for typical fall hazards,” said Carmen Eberle, owner of Nurse Next Door in Penticton.

“Our goal is to offer this free program to 100 seniors in our community and help ensure that none of these individuals end up in the hospital this winter due to a preventable fall.”

The statistics regarding senior falls are alarming:

o 33 per cent of older adults living at home fall each year.

o 85 per cent of injury-related hospital admissions in seniors are the result of falls.

o 90 per cent of hip fractures are the result of falls.

o 20 per cent of seniors who suffer a hip fracture from a fall die within one year.

The most striking fact is that the majority of senior falls are actually preventable. “Our home safety assessment allows us to show seniors how to make their homes safer by minimizing the risks,” said Eberle.

“We’re urging seniors and their families to call us early to book their free fall safety assessment.”

Common causes for falls include:

o Area or scatter rugs

o Improper footwear

o Lack of grab bars or hand rails

o Poor lighting

o Pet toys, dishes, and other animal related items

o Lack of rubber mats in bath tubs

Nurse Next Door’s local Fall Prevention Week is part of a national program that will be running in communities across Canada. The program, now in its fifth year, has already reached hundreds of seniors across the country.

The Nurse Next Door program is a locally focused in-home senior care franchise dedicated to delivering responsive, caring and high quality senior care services. This franchise operates throughout the southern Okanagan from Summerland to Osoyoos. The company specializes in both medical and non-medical care, offering a full suite of care services that allow seniors to age in the comfort of their own home.

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