Helping Prevent Falls for Mineola Seniors

As a fall victim herself, Grace Rowan, a registered nurse at , understands the pain associated with falling down.

According to Rowan, anyone over the age of 65 is at risk – reason why Winthrop has made it a priority to teach older adults ways they can avoid suffering an injury from a fall.

“Winthrop has really taken a big interest in the education of the mature adult and helping them to realize that they can remain independent and their life standard will be better by doing some few simple things to take care of themselves,” Rowan said.

As a community outreach educator, she conducts seminars like the one held in the community room Friday afternoon, highlighting who is at risk of suffering a fall and what can be done to prevent it. Friday was first time the fall prevention seminar was held at the Mineola Library.

Rowan brought with her an assortment of pamphlets filled with useful information on how to stay healthy and a wealth of knowledge on the subject acquired through her own experience and through working with people who have been hurt.

The hour long slideshow presentation discussed what factors can increase the potential for injury, including vision and hearing, poor mobility, medications, the home and outdoor environment and diseases.

A fear of falling can ironically also play a major role in causing one as Rowan encouraged her audience to stay alert, test their hearing and vision yearly and stay aware of the risks to prevent a fall before they occur.

“We’ve become so comfortable with our surroundings that we don’t realize what risks there are in the environment,” she said. “It could be as simple as moving a rug or changing a chair so that the wire is behind the chair.”

One tip is to add more lighting to their homes, put railings where possible to add support and fill out a check list that exposes any problem areas in the house. Using a cell phone or alert system can also go a long way to assisting seniors in times of harm.

Winthrop also follows up with those who attend their seminars.

“What we’ve done is we’ve recalled these people and checked what they’ve done at home.” Rowan explained. “The biggest thing with seniors is to encourage them to do exercise. We get a little complacent with that, so we’ve expanded the program and now we do offer some exercises for seniors free of charge at Winthrop and also in the community.”

The exercises can be done at home and allow the practicing senior to stay fit. The work outs also improve mobility, strength, and balance.

James Mcentee, an audience member who had suffered a fall in the past, found the lecture very useful.

“The course was excellent. It was very informative" he said. "I learned many good tips that I hope to put into practice."