KIAH McCONNELL
Marketing & Program Coordinator
It’s time for Falls Awareness Prevention Week 2025! Falls are an important issue for older adults, with one out of four Americans age 65+ experiencing a fall each year.
The good news is, falls are preventable. That’s why the Los Alamos Retired and Senior Organization is bringing the mobile falls training classroom from American Safety & Health to the Betty Ehart Senior Activity Center.
The Slip, Trip, and Fall Simulator has appointment slots available 9:00am-4:00pm September 22-26, plus evening hours on Thursday, September 25 from 4:00-7:00pm. The simulator will be closed for lunch every day from 1:00-2:00pm.
FREE & open to the public, call 505.662.8920 to sign up!
This easy 50-minute workshop teaches participants how to prevent falls and, when it is unavoidable, fall safely. The class begins with an overview of falls prevention, followed by the simulation. The simulator creates scenarios where you encounter varied surfaces and obstacles to demonstrate the feeling of losing your balance or slipping.
Falls among older adults are a crucial topic for our community to address. According to the CDC, falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries among older adults. In 2021, falls caused 38,000 deaths among those age 65+, and emergency departments reported 3 million visits due to older adult falls. As a result of falls, an older adult is treated in the emergency room every 11 seconds, and every 19 minutes, an older adult dies.
Falls are common but not inevitable. Through practical lifestyle adjustments, home modifications, evidence-based falls prevention programs, and clinical-community partnerships, we can substantially reduce the number of falls among older adults.
We want older adults in our community to maintain their independence and age in place in the living arrangement of their choice. We strive to support our older adults so they can continue their activities, maintain their social relationships, and participate fully in community life with their friends and family.
The simulator offers a unique chance to develop safer movement strategies for real life.
Take this simple step to learn how you can prevent falls. Encourage your parents to try out the simulator. Sign up together for the Fall Simulator and make it a fun activity to do with your friends. Discuss your experiences in the simulator over lunch at the Senior Activity Center. Together, we can take action and prevent falls, making our community a safer and better place for older adults.
LARSO is excited to offer the Slip, Trip, and Fall Simulator as part of our work to create an age-friendly community. The program is possible thanks to a generous sponsorship from Los Alamos Social Services.
Slip, Trip, and Fall Simulator. Courtesy photo
