OCES is committed to empowering all older adults in the community to age well and stay falls free. The agency is partnering with the National Council on Aging (NCOA) and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs to mark Falls Prevention Awareness Week, September 21-25, 2020.
Take control of your health, click here for 6 steps to prevent falls.
Each year, one in four Americans over the age of 65 have a fall. More than 2.8 million older adults are treated in emergency departments annually because of a fall, resulting in over 800,000 hospitalizations according to the NCOA.
Falls are common, but not a normal sign of aging. In an effort to raise awareness on fall prevention, OCES will participate in the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs Home Care Team second annual 2.5 Million Steps to Prevent Falls.
Join OCES and the statewide team and count your steps! The statewide goal is to collectively achieve a total of 2.5 million steps in the name of falls prevention. If you would like to participate, simply take a walk in the name of falls prevention anytime throughout the month of September. You can use your own step counter or count each mile as 2,500 steps. Family and pets are welcome to join in and remember to wear yellow in the month of September! Share your results, comments and/or photos on social media using #MASteps2PreventFalls.
For more information please visit www.ocesma.org or learn the most common falls risk factors by completing this short survey: www.ncoa.org/FallsFreeCheckUp.