[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 845 Reported in Senate (RS)]






                                                        Calendar No. 99
110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 845

  To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to expand and 
  intensify programs with respect to research and related activities 
                        concerning elder falls.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 12, 2007

   Mr. Enzi (for himself, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Hatch, and Mr. Kennedy) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
          Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

                             March 29, 2007

               Reported by Mr. Kennedy, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  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,

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Keeping Seniors Safe From 
Falls Act of 2007''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Congress finds the following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Falls are the leading cause of injury deaths 
        among individuals who are over 65 years of age.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) In 2002, falls among older adults accounted 
        for 12,800 deaths and 1,640,000 emergency department 
        visits.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Hospital admissions for hip fractures among 
        the elderly have increased from 231,000 admissions in 1988 to 
        327,000 in 2001.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Annually, more than 80,000 individuals who are 
        over 65 years of age sustain a traumatic brain injury as a 
        result of a fall.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) The total medical cost of all fall injuries 
        for people age 65 and older was calculated in 2000 to be 
        $19,500,000,000.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) A national approach to reducing falls among 
        older adults, which focuses on the daily life of senior 
        citizens in residential, institutional, and community settings, 
        is needed.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    Part J of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 
U.S.C. 280b et seq.) is amended--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (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</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) by inserting after section 393C (as 
        redesignated by paragraph (1)) the following:</DELETED>

<DELETED>``SEC. 393D. PREVENTION OF FALLS AMONG OLDER ADULTS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    ``(a) Purposes.--The purposes of this section are--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) to develop effective public education 
        strategies in a national initiative to reduce falls among older 
        adults in order to educate older adults, family members, 
        employers, caregivers, and others;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) to intensify services and conduct research 
        to determine the most effective approaches to preventing and 
        treating falls among older adults; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) to require the Secretary to evaluate the 
        effect of falls on health care costs, the potential for 
        reducing falls, and the most effective strategies for reducing 
        health care costs associated with falls.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(b) Public Education.--The Secretary shall--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) award grants, contracts, or cooperative 
        agreements to qualified organizations, institutions, or 
        consortia of qualified organizations and institutions, 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.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(c) Research.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) conduct and support research to--
                </DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(i) improve the identification 
                        of older adults who have a high risk of 
                        falling;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(ii) improve data collection and 
                        analysis to identify fall risk and protective 
                        factors;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iii) design, implement, and 
                        evaluate the most effective fall prevention 
                        interventions;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(iv) improve strategies that are 
                        proven to be effective in reducing falls by 
                        tailoring these strategies to specific 
                        populations of older adults;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(v) conduct research in order to 
                        maximize the dissemination of proven, effective 
                        fall prevention interventions;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(vi) intensify proven 
                        interventions to prevent falls among older 
                        adults;</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(vii) improve the diagnosis, 
                        treatment, and rehabilitation of elderly fall 
                        victims and those at high risk for falls; 
                        and</DELETED>
                        <DELETED>    ``(viii) assess the risk of falls 
                        occurring in various settings;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(B) conduct research concerning barriers 
                to the adoption of proven interventions with respect to 
                the prevention of falls among older adults;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(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</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(D) evaluate the effectiveness of 
                community programs designed to prevent falls among 
                older adults.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(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, shall 
        provide professional education for physicians and allied health 
        professionals, and aging service providers in fall prevention, 
        evaluation, and management.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(d) Demonstration Projects.--The Secretary shall carry 
out the following:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) Oversee and support demonstration and 
        research projects to be carried out by qualified organizations, 
        institutions, or consortia of qualified organizations and 
        institutions, in the following areas:</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(A) A multistate demonstration project 
                assessing the utility of targeted fall risk screening 
                and referral programs.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(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.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(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.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(D) Private sector and public-private 
                partnerships to develop technologies to prevent falls 
                among older adults and prevent or reduce injuries if 
                falls occur.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2)(A) Award grants, contracts, or cooperative 
        agreements to qualified organizations, institutions, or 
        consortia of qualified organizations and institutions, to 
        design, implement, and evaluate fall prevention programs using 
        proven intervention strategies in residential and institutional 
        settings.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(B) Award 1 or more grants, contracts, or 
        cooperative agreements to 1 or more qualified organizations, 
        institutions, or consortia of qualified organizations and 
        institutions, 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--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(i) identifying high-risk 
                populations;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(ii) evaluating residential 
                facilities;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(iii) conducting screening to identify 
                high-risk individuals;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(iv) providing fall assessment and risk 
                reduction interventions and counseling;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(v) coordinating services with health 
                care and social service providers; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    ``(vi) coordinating post-fall treatment 
                and rehabilitation.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(3) Award 1 or more grants, contracts, or 
        cooperative agreements to qualified organizations, 
        institutions, or consortia of qualified organizations and 
        institutions, to conduct evaluations of the effectiveness of 
        the demonstration projects described in this 
        subsection.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(e) Study of Effects of Falls on Health Care Costs.--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall 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.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    ``(2) Report.--Not later than 36 months after the 
        date of enactment of the Keeping Seniors Safe From Falls Act of 
        2007, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 
        describing the findings of the Secretary in conducting the 
        review under paragraph (1).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    ``(f) Authorization of Appropriations.--In order to carry 
out this section, there are authorized to be appropriated, $25,000,000 
for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2010.''.</DELETED>

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, 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, 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, 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, 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, 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, to 
        conduct evaluations of the effectiveness of the demonstration 
        projects described in this subsection.
    ``(d) 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.''.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    Section 394A of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280b-3) is 
amended by striking ``$50,000,000'' and all that follows through the 
period and inserting ``$58,361,000 for fiscal year 2008, and such sums 
as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 2009 and 2010.''.
                                                        Calendar No. 99

110th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                                 S. 845

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

  To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to expand and 
  intensify programs with respect to research and related activities 
                        concerning elder falls.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             March 29, 2007

                       Reported with an amendment