September 22nd is the first day of fall--and it's Fall Prevention Awareness Day. According to the National Council on Aging, falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries for older Americans. Falls result in more than 2.8 million injuries treated in emergency departments annually, including over 800,000 hospitalizations and more than 27,000 deaths. But, experts say, falling is not an inevitable result of aging. We’ll discuss practical and evidence-based fall prevention, and look at resources available in Maine.
Guests: Jason Adour, PT, DPT; President; Maine Strong Balance Center
Dr. Sarah Hallen, geriatrician with Maine Medical Partners Geriatrics; program director for Maine Medical Center’s Geriatric Fellowship; she runs a Falls Assessment Clinic in the Geriatric Center at Maine Medical Center
Anna Guest, director, Fall Prevention Program, Southern Maine Agency on Aging