September is National Fall Prevention Awareness Month and the week of September 18-22 is National Falls Prevention Awareness Week.

As part of this national outreach campaign, the AAA7 is sharing information to raise awareness among older adults in our ten-county district. One piece of helpful information is the awareness of a new online falls risk assessment tool available at no cost to individuals across the country thanks to the National Council on Aging (NCOA).

Logging online to www.ncoa.org/FallsFreeCheckUp will take individuals to a short survey that provides screening for the most common falls risk factors. Even if you are healthy or have talked with your healthcare provider, it’s important to check your risk as there are many steps you can take to prevent a fall. The short survey includes 13 simple questions that will help determine your falls risk score.

The AAA7 has a number of resources that can help lessen your chance of a fall, including in-person wellness classes targeted to educating the community more about fall risks and learning the best ways to prevent a fall for you or someone you know. These include the Matter of Balance Falls Management Program, Tai Chi for Arthritis and Prevention, and Bingocize. For more information or if interested, contact [email protected] or call 1-800-582-7277.

In addition, the Ohio Department of Aging’s STEADY U Ohio initiative coordinates and strengthens falls prevention activities around the state. Throughout the month of September, the initiative challenges everyone in Ohio to contribute to the State’s “10 Million Steps” campaign by walking one mile in September for falls awareness.

If you have any questions, please contact the AAA7 at 1-800-582-7277 or e-mail [email protected].