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| Posted on Monday, May 01, 2006 |
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New Program Shows It Doesn’t Have To
By Wendy J. Meyeroff
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE
“My mother fell and broke her hip. Several months later she passed away,” says Betty Price, remembering what spurred her to investigate falls prevention in seniors. Price’s mother isn’t unusual. Every year 300,000 people over age 62 fracture their hips (usually from falling)—and an average 25 percent of them die within a year.
Price, a certified personal trainer, didn’t want to see the same thing happen to her father—or anyone else. Her father was living at Greenspring, a community in Virginia built and managed by Erickson. Price asked Brad Hibbs, the wellness manager there, if there was anything she could do to reduce falls in the older population there.
Erickson’s History of Falls Prevention
“The Foundation invests heavily in falls prevention. Falls are responsible for 70 percent of accidental deaths in people age 75 and older. Older people who fall may experience a fear of falling again and may restrict their activities. If they do, their muscles may weaken over time, making them more prone to falling. They may become more socially isolated, leading to depression and other problems,” says John Parrish, Ph.D., executive director of the Erickson Foundation.
“In 2001, we started BEST—Balance, Exercise, Strength, Today, a demonstration program that provided falls risk screening and recommendations to interested adults,” he says.
Expanding Erickson’s Anti-Fall Program
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Prevention: The Watchword of Good Medicine
At communities built and managed by Erickson, preventive medicine is the standard. The on-site team of Erickson HealthSM professionals, including fulltime staff physicians, looks for ways to prevent problems—or keep them from worsening. | |
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Preventive care is key to Erickson HealthSM. We understand a relatively small investment in bone scanning and falls prevention provides big returns when residents can avoid crippling—and even deadly—outcomes, like hip fractures.
For more information on these programs and others, Request your free Information Kit. You can also request, for free, the Guide to Good Health. If you can’t get through by phone, try online: click on “Free Information Kit” at the top of www.ericksoncommunities.com. Because you are growing olderand smarter. |
“We wanted to make sure falls happened as little as possible among residents of Greenspring. We started a balance enhancement program, but Betty took it even further,” says Hibbs.
Price got in touch with Debra Rose, PhD., co-director of the Center for Successful Aging, Cal State Fullerton. In the late 90s, Rose started testing a program to fight falling in older adults, now known as FallProof. “Older adults of any age and skill level can do it. We have people in their 60s and people in their 80s,” says Rose.
Price went through the program and got her FallProof certification. Then she brought the program to Greenspring. “We expected maybe 25 people in response to our flyers. We ended up using the auditorium instead—and it was packed,” says Price.
“We had a wait list of 100 people. Now, thanks to having three classes—beginners, intermediate, and advanced—two days a week, we have winnowed that down to only 30 people. Plus we are waiting for Dr. Rose to come out with her maintenance program (due out at press time) for graduates of the balance class,” says Pat Karlsson, a Greenspring Wellness Coordinator and another FallProof instructor.
Types of Exercises
“I was a little nervous at first, but it’s been a tremendous confidence builder,” says Skip Prosser, a retired pharmacist. “I do homework, like balancing first on one leg for 30 seconds, then the other,” he adds.
“Visual cues are important to keeping upright,” says Rose, which is why one exercise involves balancing on a foam cushion with your eyes closed. “It’s equivalent to walking across a damp, grassy, path in the dark,” says Karlsson.
FallProof trainers say balance is just one of the many things the program teaches. There are strengthening exercises, because strong leg muscles help maintain balance. “The posture exercises have been a major asset to me,” says Steve Kirby, another student. Good posture helps prevent the hunched back that often happens in later years and hampers your center of gravity.
Advice for You and Your Doctor
“The American Geriatrics Society (among other associations) has a very clear set of guidelines for primary care physicians (PCPs). Doctors should ask patients if they have fallen in the last year or if they have balance problems. The guidelines were published in 2001, but it doesn’t look like many PCPs are aware they exist,” says Rose. Ask your doctor to find out more about it.
“You can do balance exercises anywhere, anytime. Try standing on one leg then the other exercise— without holding onto the cart, while you are in the supermarket checkout line,” says Price. “I use the tiles in my kitchen as a guideline and walk, heel to toe, keeping one foot in front of the other on that line,” says Millie Monahan, a classmate of Prosser’s and Kirby’s. Of course, always get a doctor’s permission and if you have any questions about your ability, don’t exercise alone.
At press time, FallProof has expanded to other communities built and managed by Erickson, with 14 instructors. (Note: classes are only open to residents of Erickson-built and -managed communities.) “It makes much more sense for someone to spend $140 on a bone density scan (see Bone Density on page 8) and then provide training classes to prevent falls instead of $40,000 to repair a hip fracture. The FallProof program’s emphasis on fitness and falls prevention is of primary importance, which is why we will continue to expand our falls prevention programs at Erickson-built and -managed communities,” says Matt Narrett, M.D., chief medical officer at Erickson Communities.
Most FallProof programs are still in California. To get more info rmation, email them at Successaging@ fullerton.edu.