Symposia Disseminate Proven Falls Prevention Strategies
2008
Falls are not an inevitable outcome of aging, yet falls are Wisconsin's number one cause of injury hospitalization. Older adults suffer the brunt of these debilitating, often fatal, and in most cases, preventable falls.
Safe Communities Falls Prevention Task Force, in partnership with Madison Patient Safety Collaborative, held two Falls Prevention Symposia to create consistent knowledge and wide dissemination of proven falls prevention methods among community medical professionals. The symposia, held September 14, 2007 and May 7, 2008, featured falls prevention experts Jane Mahoney, MD; Robert Przybelski, MD, MS, and Terry Shea, PT, GCS, NCS, and was a first step toward meeting our goal of reducing falls-related hospitalizations and emergency department visits in Dane County by 10% over three years.
Andy Kosseff, MD, Safe Communities Falls Prevention Task Force Chairperson, provided an overview of Dane County’s falls injury data to symposium participants.
Clinicians learned the common, reversible causes of falls, effective reimbursement strategies, and how to make meaningful assessments and evidence-based interventions in less than 15 minutes.
85 physical therapists from all health care systems were trained in Otago Exercise Programme (an intervention that reduces falls among community-dwelling adults by 30%).
Our next step is to expand the reach of this excellent training through web-based continuing medical education. Many thanks to Drs. Mahoney, Pryzbelski, Kosseff, Cal Bruce, MD and Terry Shea, PT for their work on this next phase.