How Griswold is Helping Prevent Falls

Roughly 1/4 of adults over 65 report falling every year.

September is National Falls Prevention Month. Marking the perfect time to remind everyone of some simple fall prevention tips. Aging increases the risk of falling. Falls often occur during routine activities such as climbing stairs, getting in and out of the shower, or just standing up from a seated position. At Griswold, we are happy to provide tips to adopt that can help reduce the risk of falling. Read on to learn more.

Fall Prevention Tips

As we age, fall prevention gets more and more important. This is due to the physical changes, health conditions, and medications that can make falls more likely. All that being said, falls don’t need to be scary, and we shouldn’t fear falling. Instead, consider adapting some simple fall prevention tips.

• Visit your healthcare team – first, meet with your healthcare team or PCP. They may be interested in knowing which medications you are taking, whether you’ve fallen previously, and your current health conditions.
• Stay physically active – as long as your PCP gives the OK, activities such as strength training, walking, water aerobics, and balance training such as tai chi or stretching can go a long way to prevent falls.
• Keep in mind your footwear – avoid high heels, floppy slippers, and shoes with slick soles. Switch to properly fitting, sturdy, flat shoes with non-skid soles.
• Remove home hazards – to make your home safer, remove boxes and cords from walkways, move obstacles from high-traffic areas, secure all rugs and mats, repair wooden floorboards, store clothes and dishes within easy reach, immediately clean spills, and use non-slip mats in the bathroom and shower.
• Don’t be scared to turn the lights on – keep your home brightly lit to avoid tripping on objects hard to see. Also, use night lights in the bedroom and hallways, put a lamp within reach of your bed, clear pathways to light switches, turn on lights before going up or down the stairs, and store flashlights in easy-to-find places.
• Use assistive devices – take advantage of canes, walkers, handrails, nonslip treads for bare wood steps, raised toilet seats with armrests, grab bars for the shower and tub, and a sturdy plastic seat for the shower/tub and a hand-held shower nozzle.

Using Technology to Reduce Fall Risk

At Griswold Care Pairing for Broward County, we are always looking to improve how we care for our community. We’re happy to partner with a few companies that enable our care to be even better. They both help us either react more quickly to falls or help prevent them.

Griswold Care Plus: Our Virtual Care (also known as Griswold Care Plus), through Sensi, ensures your loved one is supported around-the-clock, whether or not a Caregiver is present. The HIPAA-compliant technology provides always-on care by monitoring sounds in the home. It can detect falls, physical distress, calls for help, and identify early signs of cognitive decline, infection, medication errors, potential UTIs, and more. This critical information is used to provide an enhanced level of care and peace of mind. When a fall is detected, we get a notification, and so do you. Allowing us to check in on our clients immediately after.

Able Care: Coming soon to Broward County, Able Care will help us gauge your risk of falling and prevent future hospitalizations. With the Able Assess Tool, we’ll measure your grip strength, balance, and gait. Afterwards, we will provide you with a Griswold Strength Score. Using that score, we will provide tips for small changes to your daily routine that can help prevent falls.

Falls are one of the leading causes of injury among older adults. They can result in hospital stays, surgery, long recovery periods, and loss of independence. They can also lead to fear, anxiety, and isolation after an accident occurs.

Griswold Can Help

At Griswold Care Pairing for Broward County, we are proud to offer a variety of non-medical home care services. We offer respite care if you need a short break, all the way up to live-in care when extra support is needed. We are happy to serve Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, and the surrounding areas. If you are looking for home care, give us a call today! We’d be happy to discuss your options for care and help put together a personalized care plan.

License #: NR30211028