According to the Center for Disease Control, more than one-third of people 65 and older fall each year. Falls are the foremost cause of injury deaths among older adults. Almost 16,000 adults died from injuries related to unintentional falls in 2005. Almost two million older adults were treated in emergency facilities for nonfatal injuries.

Falls have many undesirable outcomes. Approximately one-fourth of those who fall suffer moderate to severe injuries which include head trauma, fractures of the spine, hip, leg, hand and other body parts. Often people who fall, even if not injured, develop a fear of falling. This can lead to diminished activities which in turn can lead to reduced mobility and physical strength. Inadvertently, this may cause the opposite desired result and actually increase the risk of falling.

Some facts pertaining to elderly individuals falling include:

Women are more likely to suffer nonfatal fall injuries while men are more likely to die from falls. Fall-related fractures among the elderly are more than twice as high for women as for men.

Individuals 75 and older who fall are much more likely to be admitted to a long-term care facility for a year or longer.

Little difference is noted in fatal fall rates between blacks and whites in the age group of 65 to 74 but these rates change after 75. After reaching that age, white men suffer the highest fatality rates from falls, followed by white women, black men and black women.

For more related information, click on this link: senior safety and keeping senior citizens safe

Gerri Tyber

Operations Manager, Barton Home Care

Should you suddenly find yourself in need of home care for an elder loved one, you’ll soon realize that it can be a daunting process. Where do you look? What questions do you ask? Who can you trust? What does it cost? And so on.

For home health care in the Denver, Colorado Metro Area, you can start by clicking on the following link to obtain the right questions to ask during your search:

Home Health Care | Denver, Colorado Metro Area

For related articles of interest, and more information on long term health care, click on the following link:

Long Term Health Care

To help determine your need for elder services, click on this link:

Need for Elder Services

Remember, you are welcome to call me anytime for a no-obligation, free consultation regarding in-home senior care for the Metro Denver Area.

Tom Barton

Owner, Barton Home Care

Direct: 303.660.5120

Caring for those with Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia

Because of our aging population, some states have seen the need for a new system to help law enforcement agencies find elderly people who have wandered away. It is called the “Silver Alert” system. It is like the Amber Alert system which goes into action immediately when a child goes missing. If a senior citizen is reported missing and they are considered to have a serious health condition, such as Alzheimer’s or dementia, law enforcement will enter their information into the system, and all media will be immediately notified. Generally with senior citizens the first 48 hours are the most important, because they often have serious health issues.

Every state has an Amber Alert program, while only five states currently have a silver alert program. Three more states are presently working on adopting silver alert legislation. Oddly enough, Florida has no such law and has the highest population in the country of people over 65. In late February of 2008, an elderly woman signed herself out of the home for seniors where she lived in Key Largo, Florida. She planned to do some shopping. She had suffered from bouts of dementia in the past, but according to her daughter she had shown recent improvement and had made other similar short trips in the last month. Unfortunately, her body was found about a week later in Clearwater, Florida. Authorities and divers are looking for her car in the water nearby. This tragedy could possibly have been averted.

The Alzheimer’s Association affirms that six out of ten people with dementia will wander at least once. It is predicted that tracking the elderly will become a full-grown industry when 78 million baby boomers reach old age.

Gerri Tyber

Operations Manager, Barton Home Care