The Joint Commission has joined the operational excellence efforts of leading senior living companies nationwide by extending its award-winning Speak Up campaign to include fall prevention strategies for seniors. Provider companies and communities can download materials – also available in Spanish – to share with residents and families …
The Speak Up campaign offers tips and strategies that help people reduce the risk of falling – which, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is the second leading cause of injury-related death for people 65 and older. Reducing injuries, disabilities, and deaths from falls also is part of the Healthy People 2010 program, notes a Joint Commission release. That program is an initiative of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
Recently, leading senior living companies have been nationally recognized by the Assisted Living Federation of America (ALFA) for outstanding programs that focus on fall prevention among residents. This year, Five Star Senior Living, based in Newton, Massachusetts, received an ALFA Best of the Best Award for its “Fall Prevention Is Everybody’s Business” program. A hands-on, practical approach to fall prevention, the program created a friendly competition among communities to address sources of potential fall risk, including partnerships with pharmacies to access medications that could be contributing to falls.
In 2008, Martinez, California-based Carlton Senior Living received an ALFA Best of the Best Award for its fall prevention program, which included a comprehensive assessment of the company’s communities and staff practices. Within six months of the program’s launch, the company decreased falls by 50 percent.
Read more about The Joint Commission’s new Speak Up campaign, including details about downloading materials – also available in Spanish – to share with staff and consumers.
Read more about Five Star Senior Living’s award-winning program.
Read more about Carlton Senior Living’s award-winning program.
