As it has for the past few years, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA) invited senior services agencies to participate in this year’s 50 Million Steps to Prevent Falls campaign. Last year, agencies state-wide accomplished a total of 47,058,394 steps! For this year’s challenge, EOEA is stepping up the goal to achieve a statewide total of 50 million steps!
“Last year, 27 GLSS (Greater Lynn Senior Services) staff members collectively recorded 4,022,191 steps, and we are working to exceed that number this month as the state and organizations like GLSS are focused on raising awareness about falls prevention,” says Kathy Burns, Chief Executive Officer. “This topic is something that we promote year-round through educational and exercise programs, but it really gets a national focus in September.” The National Council on Aging takes the lead in helping to promote and spread the word about falls prevention during the week of September 18-22.
Falls remain a major health care concern and are the leading cause of injury death for older Americans. Falls threaten seniors’ safety and independence and generate enormous economic and personal costs. According to the Centers for Disease Control, every second of every day, an older adult (age 65+) falls in the U.S., resulting in more than 3 million injuries, 32,000 deaths, and about $50 billion in medical costs.