Each year, Falls Prevention Awareness Week marks a critical moment in promoting safety and independence for older adults. Hosted by the National Council on Aging (NCOA) and the Falls Free® Initiative, this year’s theme is “From Awareness to Action” and highlights the shift from understanding the risks to actively reducing them.

Why does fall prevention matter?

Falls remain the leading cause of injury-related deaths and hospitalizations for older adults in the US. In fact, one in four Americans aged 65 or above fall each year. These incidents often result in fractures, concussions, loss of independence or sometimes even death. 

The good news is that falls are preventable, especially with targeted interventions.

For the past 15 years, NCOA and the Falls Free Initiative have empowered older adults through evidence-based programming, enlisting the support of healthcare professionals, community leaders, and families. This year, the provided toolkit offers an array of resources designed to help turn knowledge into action, especially for those working in skilled nursing facilities (SNFs).

The toolkit includes:

  • Falls Free Check Up: A risk assessment tool to identify fall hazards.
  • Social Media Toolkit: Ready-to-use graphics and messaging to spread the word.
  • Bone Health and Falls Prevention: Resources on strengthening bones to reduce fall-related injuries.
  • Concussion Awareness: Tools to identify and address concussions, often overlooked after a fall.

Providers also should appreciate the benefit of engaging therapy services in initiatives aimed at fall prevention. 

Physical, occupational and speech therapy play crucial roles in fall prevention, offering individualized interventions that go beyond standard care. Here’s how each discipline can significantly reduce fall risks and enhance quality of life:

Physical therapists assess and improve the musculoskeletal and cardiovascular systems, focusing on balance, strength and coordination. These three factors are key in fall prevention. 

PT programs often include:

  • Balance training: Exercises such as single-leg stands, heel-to-toe walking, and tai chi to improve stability.
  • Strengthening: Targeted muscle-strengthening activities for key areas like the legs, core and back help stabilize the body during movement.
  • Gait training: Improving walking patterns and endurance through proper footwear, assistive devices and specialized techniques reduces the likelihood of trips or stumbles.

These therapies help restore mobility and balance, empowering older adults to move confidently and avoid the dangers of falls.

Occupational therapists (OTs) work to improve an individual’s ability to safely perform everyday activities. 

OT interventions for fall prevention focus on:

  • Environmental modifications: Identifying and modifying home and facility environments to reduce hazards, such as ensuring proper lighting, removing clutter, and installing grab bars.
  • Adaptive equipment: Recommending and training patients on the use of assistive devices such as walkers, canes, and reachers, which can dramatically lower the risk of falls.
  • Functional task training: Helping residents build confidence in their ability to perform tasks like bathing, dressing and transferring from a chair, which are often fall risk moments.

OTs ensure older adults maintain independence while reducing their risk of falling through tailored adaptations.

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are often associated with swallowing or speech disorders, but their role in fall prevention is equally important. Many older adults with cognitive decline or neurological conditions are at higher risk for falls. 

SLPs can provide:

  • Cognitive training: Enhancing memory, attention, and problem-solving skills to ensure safer decision-making and response to environmental hazards.
  • Communication training: Improving the ability to express needs or seek help when a fall or fall risk occurs, which is vital for individuals with conditions like aphasia or dementia.

SLPs help older adults maintain cognitive function and communication skills, which are critical in recognizing fall risks and responding to emergencies.

Therapists and caregivers in SNFs are ideally positioned to implement these preventive strategies. Actionable steps include regular screening, skilled therapeutic programs and, most importantly, care collaboration with nurses, families and residents, including ongoing dialogue about progress and adapting care plans based on therapy outcomes.

In closing, engaging therapy services can transform a passive understanding of fall risks into active, life-changing prevention measures. 

Falls Prevention Awareness Week is an important reminder, but the real impact comes from consistent, year-round efforts. By partnering with therapy professionals and utilizing tools from the NCOA toolkit, SNFs can turn awareness into action, ensuring that older adults live with confidence, safety, and independence.

Renee Kinder, MS, CCC-SLP, RAC-CT, serves as the Executive Vice President of Clinical Services for Broad River Rehab. Additionally, she contributes her expertise as a member of the American Speech Language Hearing Association’s (ASHA) Healthcare and Economics Committee, the University of Kentucky College of Medicine community faculty, and an advisor to the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Current Procedural Terminology CPT® Editorial Panel, and a member of the AMA Digital Medicine Payment Advisory Group. For further inquiries, she can be contacted here.

The opinions expressed in McKnight’s Long-Term Care News guest submissions are the author’s and are not necessarily those of McKnight’s Long-Term Care News or its editors.

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