FALLS FREE COALITION MEMBER

The Falls Free Coalition is a national group composed of organizations, state agencies, and industries that focus on decreasing the number of falls and fall-related injuries our elderly experience each year.  The Falls Free members are concerned about the growing number of seniors who fall each year.  To address this issue the National Council on Aging, the Home Safety Council, and the Archstone Foundation spearheaded a drive to establish a nation falls prevention plan.

The Nation Action Plan is the product of the Falls Free Summit held in December 2004.  The plan outlines three focus areas: Physical Mobility, Medications Management, Home Safety, Environmental Safety in the Community, and Cross-cutting Issues.  Each of these has separate goals with implementation strategies.  It is the members’ responsibilities to do their parts in the implementation stages.  Now 18 months from its inception, the coalition has released Making a Difference: Progress Report on the National Action Plan.

Bertec has tackled the focus of Physical Mobility in its role as a Falls Free Coalition member.  Using our BalanceCheck line of balance assessment and training systems, we offer balance screenings at senior centers, health fairs, and flu vaccination clinics.

We also offer presentations on balance assessment and rehabilitation tools to interested parties at universities and medical campuses.  Bertec strives to increase the awareness of the causes of falls and the treatment of balance loss.