September marks PACE of the Triad’s third annual Falls Prevention and Awareness month. For each of the past three years, our staff has celebrated this national event with our participants and our caregivers in an effort to raise awareness of the urgency of falls prevention for the aging population. This year, our Falls Committee is ahead of the game. In January, the Falls Committee agreed to sponsor an annual Quality Improvement Project (QuIP) to build a better, more detailed falls program. download

As a part of this goal, the committee decided that all staff members could benefit from knowing the best questions to ask when gathering information about a fall. And, to help keep this information at our fingertips, committee member Belinda Rampp, RN worked with our PACE Marketing Director, Nedra Baldwin, to create small reminder tags for staff to attach to their name badges so that this information is always at hand!

In addition, The Falls Committee’s Primary Care mentor, Dr. Wayne Hale, has provided our staff with specialized education on Parkinson’s Disease and falls management in June. The education covered progression of the disease and provided us with an appreciation for the complexity of Parkinson’s care.

In September, our staff plans to honor National Falls Prevention and Awareness Month with several activities, including a falls prevention skit from our Social Workers, education from our Physical Therapy Team and interactive activities and crafts from our Activities and Recreation department.