Falls Prevention Fridays Coming To AARP Wyoming Facebook Page

A series of free online presentations in September aim to help Wyoming’s age 50+ avoid falls in and outside of the home. The series is called “Falls Prevention Fridays,” and is a collaboration of the Wyoming Department of Health Injury and Violence Prevention Program, Wyoming Department of Health Aging Division,  AARP Wyoming, Mountain-Pacific Quality Health, and Wyoming Center on Aging. 

The webinars will take place each Friday in the month of September from 10-10:30 a.m. and be available on AARP Wyoming’s Facebook page, free of cost. The AARP Wyoming page can be found at:  https://www.facebook.com/AARPWY/.

In Wyoming, falls and fall-related injuries are the leading cause of unintentional injury-related hospitalizations and the third leading cause of unintentional deaths. According to the National Council on Aging, every fourteen seconds an older adult is seen in an emergency department for a fall-related injury, and one in three older adults fall each year. 

“The number of falls in a community may be reduced through practical lifestyle adjustments, evidence-based prevention programs, and community partnerships,” says Jeff Grant of the Wyoming Department of Health. “We think this series of webinars offers easy-to-understand tips to help Wyoming citizens of all ages avoid falls.”

The Falls Prevention Fridays programs will consist of a different speaker offering basic suggestions for those looking to fall-proof their lives. The speakers featured in the series are:

September 4 - Jeff Grant, MS - Grant works for the Wyoming Department of Health’s Injury and Violence Prevention Program as the Unintentional Injury Prevention Coordinator. The Wyoming Department of Health has a number of programs that aim to prevent falls and Grant will offer an overview of several, while featuring Tai Chi for Arthritis and Matter of Balance.

Tai Chi for Arthritis is an evidence-based community program developed to reduce the risks of falling among older adults. Studies have shown that older adults 65+ who regularly participate in a Tai Chi falls prevention class can reduce their risk of falling by as much as 55 percent when compared to the control group.

Matter of Balance  is an evidence-based community program designed to reduce the fear of falling and improve activity levels among older adults.The program focuses on practical coping strategies to reduce fear of falling and to diminish the risk of falling. The curriculum includes lectures, group discussions, mutual problem-solving, role-playing activities, exercise training, assertiveness training, and home assignments.

September 11 - Steve Sy, PharmD will offer a presentation called Preventing Falls With Your Provider and Pharmacist - Sy works with Mountain Pacific Quality Health and has expertise in medication safety, and adverse drug connections. Sy’s webinar will explain what medication types often contribute to falls; as well as what skills can be used to reduce falls risk.

September 18 - Cody Mauldin, PT, DPT, GCS will offer a presentation called Fall Prevention:  What you need to know. Common questions, risks and available resources - Mauldin is a doctor of physical therapy and the director of therapy for CaringEdge in Casper. Mauldin has extensive training in the area of falls prevention and restorative strengthening. His presentation will help citizens assess and identify if someone should consider themself an increased fall risk; as well as common fall risk scenarios and how to prevent them. 

September 25 - Bernard Steinman, PhD - Steinman is a gerontologist and an assistant professor of human development and family studies at the University of Wyoming. His interests include building communities that are highly livable for older adults and persons with disabilities. 

Dr. Steinman’s research focuses on relationships between the environment, health outcomes and inclusion of older adults in safe communities. Dr. Steinman also serves as a subject matter expert, instructor, and research consultant for Homemods.org, housed at the Fall Prevention Center of Excellence at the University of Southern California.  

For more information on the state’s injury prevention work, contact Jeff Grant at the Wyoming Department of Health. He can be reached by emailing jeff.grant@wyo.gov or 307-777-2424.