Falls Can be Life-Threatening!

‘Honestly, right now, the biggest barrier is that we’ve got the wrong story about aging. If we stay with that story, all the disaster scenarios that people predict could come true. If we build a society for longer lives with health, there will be a huge return on our investment.’

Linda P. Fried, MD MPH, Dean of the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health.

Preventing falls can be life-saving for older adults. An aging body means a noninjury in your 40s would be far more severe in your 70s. Preventing falls for older adults is not an option but a life-saving strategy.

From Christus St. Vincent 2020-2022 Community Health Needs Assessment - Falling is one of the leading causes of unintended injury and death for adults 65 and over in New Mexico. The rate of fall-related deaths for seniors was 77.7 per 100,000 in Santa Fe County in 2017, which is higher than the U.S. rate of 61.6 per 100,000. Falls and the risk of falling have been increasing across the nation.

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Presented by Maria Francis and Ann Church, Master Trainers for Matter of Balance

Why exercise?

Preventing falls is crucial as we age because our bodies become more vulnerable to injury. From Christus St. Vincent 2020-2022 Community Health Needs Assessment - Falling is one of the leading causes of unintended injury and death for adults 65 and over in New Mexico.

In 2020, 36,508 older adults aged 65 and older died (that's 100 older adults every day) from preventable falls, and emergency departments treated 2.8 million. Over the past ten years, older adult fall deaths have increased by 59%. (National Safety Council).

The only way to prevent falls or reduce the impact is to 'Exercise to improve your balance and strength' (CDC).

Costs are astronomical. Did you know that older adult falls are responsible for more than 3 million injuries requiring treatment in emergency departments annually? Shockingly, over 800,000 of these incidents result in hospitalizations. The cost of treating injuries caused by falls is predicted to exceed $101 billion by the year 2030. (cdc.gov).

We need older adults in the workforce. New Mexico's aging population is growing rapidly. By 2030, 32.5% of New Mexico's population will be 60 or older. By 2030, New Mexico will rank 3rd in the nation in the percentage of the population aged 60 and older. Among adults ages 65 to 74, the workforce participation rate was 25.8% in 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and is expected to be 30.7% by 2031.

Older adults are caregivers for our children. More than 13% of children in New Mexico live with someone other than their parents—that's more than 64,000 kids. Grandparents are raising 77% of this group.