Care about a senior citizen in your life? Then make sure his or her home doesn’t become a house of horrors. The Centers for Disease Control, in a 2016 report, says it quite succinctly: “Every second of every day in the United States an older adult falls, making falls the number one cause of injuries and deaths from injury among older Americans.
Let that sink in: Every second of every day …
GoodCall® asked the experts about home hazards for senior citizens, and most – though not all – have to do with falling and the aftermath. Again, the facts from the CDC, the National Council on Aging and others are stark:
- About a third of people age 65 or older fall each year. The incidence of repeat falls is high – two-thirds of those who fall will fall again within six months.
-
The risk of falling increases with age. More than half of seniors 80 or older fall annually.
- 25 percent of seniors who break a hip from a fall die within six months.
But don’t let those depressing stats get you or your loved ones down. Steps can be taken to keep seniors safe from falls and other perils at home. Click here for a printable version of this webpage.