[110th Congress Public Law 202]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]


[DOCID: f:publ202.110]

[[Page 122 STAT. 697]]

Public Law 110-202
110th Congress

                                 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. <<NOTE: Apr. 23, 2008 -  [S. 845]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Safety of 
Seniors Act of 2007.>> 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. <<NOTE: 42 USC 201 note.>> 

    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) <<NOTE: 42 USC 280b-1c.>> 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. <<NOTE: 42 USC 280b-1f.>> 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;

[[Page 122 STAT. 698]]

                          ``(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,

[[Page 122 STAT. 699]]

        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

[[Page 122 STAT. 700]]

        2007, submit to Congress a report describing the findings of the 
        Secretary in conducting such review.''.

    Approved April 23, 2008.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 845 (H.R. 3701):
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOUSE REPORTS: No. 110-569 accompanying H.R. 3701 (Comm. on Energy and 
Commerce).
SENATE REPORTS: No. 110-110 (Comm. on Health, Education, Labor, and 
Pensions).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD:
                                                        Vol. 153 (2007):
                                    Aug. 1, considered and passed 
                                        Senate.
                                                        Vol. 154 (2008):
                                    Apr. 8, considered and passed House.
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, Vol. 44 (2008):


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