A resolution designating the week of September 21 through September 25, 2020, as "National Falls Prevention Awareness Week" to raise awareness and encourage the prevention of falls among older adults.

III 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. RES. 734 Designating the week of September 21 through September 25, 2020, as ‘‘National Falls Prevention Awareness Week’’ to raise awareness and encourage the prevention of falls among older adults. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 30 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 29), 2020 Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina, Mr. CASEY, Ms. MCSALLY, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. HAWLEY, Ms. WARREN, Mr. BRAUN, and Ms. SINEMA) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Designating the week of September 21 through September 25, 2020, as ‘‘National Falls Prevention Awareness Week’’ to raise awareness and encourage the prevention of falls among older adults. Whereas individuals who are 65 years of age or older (re- ferred to in this preamble as ‘‘older adults’’) are the fast- est growing segment of the population in the United States, and the number of older adults in the United States will increase from approximately 56,100,000 in 2020 to an estimated 73,100,000 by 2030; Whereas approximately 30 percent of older adults in the United States fall each year, with each 10-year increment in age increasing the risk of falls; VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:52 Oct 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR734.ATS SR734 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •SRES 734 ATS Whereas falls are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries among older adults; Whereas, in 2018, older adults reported 35,600,000 falls, with approximately 8,400,000 of those falls resulting in an injury that limited regular activities or resulted in a medical visit; Whereas, in 2018, approximately 3,000,000 older adults were treated in hospital emergency departments for fall-related injuries, and more than 950,000 of those older adults were subsequently hospitalized; Whereas, in 2018, more than 32,000 older adults died from injuries related to unintentional falls, and the death rate from falls of older adults in the United States is expected to continue to sharply rise to more than 100,000 per year by 2030; Whereas, in 2015— (1) the total direct medical cost of fall-related inju- ries for older adults, adjusted for inflation, was approxi- mately $50,000,000,000; (2) with respect to nonfatal falls, Medicare paid ap- proximately $28,900,000,000, Medicaid paid approxi- mately $8,700,000,000, and private and other payers paid approximately $12,000,000,000; and (3) overall medical spending for fatal falls was esti- mated to be $754,000,000; Whereas, if the rate of increase in falls is not slowed, the an- nual cost of fall injuries will surpass $101,000,000,000 by 2030; and Whereas evidence-based programs reduce falls by utilizing cost-effective strategies, such as exercise programs to im- prove balance and strength, medication management, vi- VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:52 Oct 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR734.ATS SR734 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •SRES 734 ATS sion improvement, reduction of home hazards, and falls prevention education: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the Senate— 1 (1) designates the week of September 21 2 through September 25, 2020, as ‘‘National Falls 3 Prevention Awareness Week’’; 4 (2) recognizes that there are proven, cost-effec- 5 tive falls prevention programs and policies; 6 (3) commends the 73 member organizations of 7 the Falls Free Coalition and the falls prevention coa- 8 litions in 43 States and the District of Columbia for 9 their efforts to work together to increase education 10 and awareness about preventing falls among older 11 adults; 12 (4) encourages businesses, individuals, Federal, 13 State, and local governments, the public health com- 14 munity, and health care providers to work together 15 to raise awareness of falls in an effort to reduce the 16 incidence of falls among older adults in the United 17 States; 18 (5) recognizes the Centers for Disease Control 19 and Prevention for its work developing and evalu- 20 ating interventions for all members of health care 21 teams to make falls prevention a routine part of 22 clinical care; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:52 Oct 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\SR734.ATS SR734 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •SRES 734 ATS (6) recognizes the Administration for Commu- 1 nity Living for its work to promote access to evi- 2 dence-based programs and services in communities 3 across the United States; 4 (7) encourages State health departments and 5 State units on aging, which provide significant lead- 6 ership in reducing injuries and related health care 7 costs by collaborating with organizations and indi- 8 viduals, to reduce falls among older adults; and 9 (8) encourages experts in the field of falls pre- 10 vention to share their best practices so that their 11 success can be replicated by others. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:52 Oct 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\SR734.ATS SR734 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS