III 111th CONGRESS 1st Session S. RES. 276 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES September 21, 2009 Mr. Kohl (for himself, Ms. Mikulski, Mr. Enzi, Mr. Casey, Mr. Sanders, and Mrs. Murray) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to RESOLUTION Designating September 22, 2009, as National Falls Prevention Awareness Day.

Whereas older adults age 65 and over are the fastest growing segment of our population and whose numbers will increase from 35,000,000 in 2000 to 55,000,000 in 2020; Whereas 1 in every 3 people in the United States who are 65 years of age or older falls each year; Whereas falls are the leading cause of injury, deaths, and hospital admissions for traumatic injuries among adults 65 years of age and older; Whereas, in 2007, approximately 1,900,000 people with fall-related injuries were treated in hospital emergency departments and approximately 492,000 were hospitalized after treatment; Whereas, in 2006, more 16,600 people aged 65 and older died from injuries related to unintentional falls; Whereas, in 2000, direct medical costs for fall-related injuries for adults aged 65 and older totaled more than $19,000,000,000; Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that if the rate of increase in falls is not slowed, annual direct treatment costs under the Medicare program will reach $32,400,000,000 by 2020; Whereas evidence-based programs show promise in reducing falls and facilitating cost-effective interventions, such as comprehensive clinical assessments, exercise programs to improve balance and health, management of medications, correction of vision, and reduction of home hazards; Whereas research indicates that fall prevention programs for high-risk older adults have a net-cost savings of almost $9 in benefits to society for each $1 invested; Whereas the Safety of Seniors Act of 2007 (Public Law 110–202) was enacted to amend the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280b et seq.) to create a national education campaign aimed at older adults, their families, and healthcare providers, and injury prevention programs that focus on the reduction and prevention of falls among older adults; and Whereas the Falls Free Coalition Advocacy Work Group and its numerous national and State supporting organizations should be commended for their efforts to raise awareness and to promote better understanding, research, and programs to prevent falls among older adults: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate— (1)designates September 22, 2009, as National Falls Prevention Awareness Day; (2)commends the Falls Free Coalition Advocacy Work Group and the 22 State falls coalitions for their efforts to work together to increase education and awareness about the prevention of falls among older adults; (3)encourages businesses, individuals, Federal, State, and local governments, the public health community, and health care providers to work together to promote the awareness of falls in an effort to reduce the incidence of falls among older people in the United States; (4)urges the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to continue developing and evaluating interventions to prevent falls among older adults that can be used in effective community-based fall prevention programs; (5)encourages State health departments to use their significant leadership to reduce injuries and injury-related health care costs by collaborating with colleagues and a variety of organizations and individuals to reduce falls among older adults; and (6)recognizes proven, cost effective fall prevention programs and policies and encourages experts in the field of fall prevention to share their best practices so that their success can be replicated by others.