WEEKLY UPDATE: 09/26/24
Governor Ned Lamont on Monday, September 23 declared September 23-27, 2024 Falls Prevention Awareness Week in Connecticut under the theme “Take a Stand to Prevent Falls.” As the state’s population grows older, data from 2022 shows unintentional falls were the leading cause of death for individuals 75 years or older and nearly half of all emergency room visits for a head injury were fall-related.
The Connecticut Department of Aging and Disability Services (ADS) and the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) have teamed up to launch Falls Free CT, a coalition uniting falls prevention champions to reduce the incidence of falls among older adults, educate professionals and the public about the importance of falls prevention, and share resources and best practices. The coalition encourages hospitals and health systems to commemorate Falls Prevention Awareness Week with the National Council on Aging’s (NCOA) social media toolkit.
Falls Free CT hosted its kickoff meeting on Monday, September 16, which featured guest speakers ADS Commissioner Amy Porter, DPH epidemiologist Susan Yurasevecz, and CT Community Care Operations and Network Coordinator Karen Green. All Falls Free CT participants are asked to complete a brief survey by Tuesday, October 1, 2024. The next virtual meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, December 10, 2024 from 11:00a.m.-12:00 p.m. Register here.
To learn more about the opportunity to join Falls Free CT and how to register for upcoming meetings, please contact Angela Vázquez with the ADS Bureau of Aging at angela.vazquez@ct.gov.
Click here to read the governor’s proclamation.
Click here to complete the Falls Free CT survey.
