[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 845 Referred in House (RFH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 845
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
August 2, 2007
Referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
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.''.
Passed the Senate August 1, 2007.
Attest:
NANCY ERICKSON,
Secretary.