[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 845 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.845
One Hundred Tenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday,
the third day of January, two thousand and eight
An Act
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to expand and
intensify programs with respect to research and related activities
concerning elder falls.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Safety of Seniors Act of 2007''.
SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT.
Part J of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
280b et seq.) is amended--
(1) by redesignating section 393B (as added by section 1401 of
Public Law 106-386) as section 393C and transferring such section
so that it appears after section 393B (as added by section 1301 of
Public Law 106-310); and
(2) by inserting after section 393C (as redesignated by
paragraph (1)) the following:
``SEC. 393D. PREVENTION OF FALLS AMONG OLDER ADULTS.
``(a) Public Education.--The Secretary may--
``(1) oversee and support a national education campaign to be
carried out by a nonprofit organization with experience in
designing and implementing national injury prevention programs,
that is directed principally to older adults, their families, and
health care providers, and that focuses on reducing falls among
older adults and preventing repeat falls; and
``(2) award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to
qualified organizations, institutions, or consortia of qualified
organizations and institutions, specializing, or demonstrating
expertise, in falls or fall prevention, for the purpose of
organizing State-level coalitions of appropriate State and local
agencies, safety, health, senior citizen, and other organizations
to design and carry out local education campaigns, focusing on
reducing falls among older adults and preventing repeat falls.
``(b) Research.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary may--
``(A) conduct and support research to--
``(i) improve the identification of older adults who
have a high risk of falling;
``(ii) improve data collection and analysis to identify
fall risk and protective factors;
``(iii) design, implement, and evaluate the most
effective fall prevention interventions;
``(iv) improve strategies that are proven to be
effective in reducing falls by tailoring these strategies
to specific populations of older adults;
``(v) conduct research in order to maximize the
dissemination of proven, effective fall prevention
interventions;
``(vi) intensify proven interventions to prevent falls
among older adults;
``(vii) improve the diagnosis, treatment, and
rehabilitation of elderly fall victims and older adults at
high risk for falls; and
``(viii) assess the risk of falls occurring in various
settings;
``(B) conduct research concerning barriers to the adoption
of proven interventions with respect to the prevention of falls
among older adults;
``(C) conduct research to develop, implement, and evaluate
the most effective approaches to reducing falls among high-risk
older adults living in communities and long-term care and
assisted living facilities; and
``(D) evaluate the effectiveness of community programs
designed to prevent falls among older adults.
``(2) Educational support.--The Secretary, either directly or
through awarding grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to
qualified organizations, institutions, or consortia of qualified
organizations and institutions, specializing, or demonstrating
expertise, in falls or fall prevention, may provide professional
education for physicians and allied health professionals, and aging
service providers in fall prevention, evaluation, and management.
``(c) Demonstration Projects.--The Secretary may carry out the
following:
``(1) Oversee and support demonstration and research projects
to be carried out by qualified organizations, institutions, or
consortia of qualified organizations and institutions,
specializing, or demonstrating expertise, in falls or fall
prevention, in the following areas:
``(A) A multistate demonstration project assessing the
utility of targeted fall risk screening and referral programs.
``(B) Programs designed for community-dwelling older adults
that utilize multicomponent fall intervention approaches,
including physical activity, medication assessment and
reduction when possible, vision enhancement, and home
modification strategies.
``(C) Programs that are targeted to new fall victims who
are at a high risk for second falls and which are designed to
maximize independence and quality of life for older adults,
particularly those older adults with functional limitations.
``(D) Private sector and public-private partnerships to
develop technologies to prevent falls among older adults and
prevent or reduce injuries if falls occur.
``(2)(A) Award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to
qualified organizations, institutions, or consortia of qualified
organizations and institutions, specializing, or demonstrating
expertise, in falls or fall prevention, to design, implement, and
evaluate fall prevention programs using proven intervention
strategies in residential and institutional settings.
``(B) Award 1 or more grants, contracts, or cooperative
agreements to 1 or more qualified organizations, institutions, or
consortia of qualified organizations and institutions,
specializing, or demonstrating expertise, in falls or fall
prevention, in order to carry out a multistate demonstration
project to implement and evaluate fall prevention programs using
proven intervention strategies designed for single and multifamily
residential settings with high concentrations of older adults,
including--
``(i) identifying high-risk populations;
``(ii) evaluating residential facilities;
``(iii) conducting screening to identify high-risk
individuals;
``(iv) providing fall assessment and risk reduction
interventions and counseling;
``(v) coordinating services with health care and social
service providers; and
``(vi) coordinating post-fall treatment and rehabilitation.
``(3) Award 1 or more grants, contracts, or cooperative
agreements to qualified organizations, institutions, or consortia
of qualified organizations and institutions, specializing, or
demonstrating expertise, in falls or fall prevention, to conduct
evaluations of the effectiveness of the demonstration projects
described in this subsection.
``(d) Priority.--In awarding grants, contracts, or cooperative
agreements under this section, the Secretary may give priority to
entities that explore the use of cost-sharing with respect to
activities funded under the grant, contract, or agreement to ensure the
institutional commitment of the recipients of such assistance to the
projects funded under the grant, contract, or agreement. Such non-
Federal cost sharing contributions may be provided directly or through
donations from public or private entities and may be in cash or in-
kind, fairly evaluated, including plant, equipment, or services.
``(e) Study of Effects of Falls on Health Care Costs.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary may conduct a review of the
effects of falls on health care costs, the potential for reducing
falls, and the most effective strategies for reducing health care
costs associated with falls.
``(2) Report.--If the Secretary conducts the review under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall, not later than 36 months after
the date of enactment of the Safety of Seniors Act of 2007, submit
to Congress a report describing the findings of the Secretary in
conducting such review.''.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.