FALLS

Course overview

Falls are a serious health risk for older people. For many elders, a fall is a life-changing event that can lead to disability, loss of independence, or death. About 28.7% of adults aged 65 and older fall every year.1 That equates to about 29 million falls, and those people sustained 7 million injuries.1 In 2014, 2.8 million older adults were treated in EDs for nonfatal fall injuries; 800,000 were hospitalized, and 27,000 died.1 The fall rates in hospitals and nursing homes are even higher: 3.56 falls per 1,000 patient days occur in hospitals every year, and about half of the 1.6 million residents in U.S. nursing facilities fall each year.