Preventing Falls in Older Adults
Falls Prevention Awareness Week: September 23 to 27
Theme: From Awareness to Action
Join us for National Falls Prevention Awareness Week events, including a capstone health fair on Thursday, September 26:
- NYC: A Great Place to Age Well and Healthy!, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- A Health Fair presented by: NYC Aging, NYC Health Department, Aetna, MetroPlus Health, Mount Sinai, New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medicine, Asphalt Green
- Audience: Older adults, caregivers, professionals, general public
- Learn what makes your communities great places to age, and learn how you can keep up your physical and mental health.
- Address: Asphalt Green. 555 East 90th Street, Manhattan
Tuesday, September 24
- Medicine Safety and Falls Prevention, 11 a.m. to noon
- Presented by: NYC Health Department and Poison Control Center
- Audience: Older adults, caregivers, professionals, general public
- Falls prevention and medicine safety can be closely related. Learn more at this training.
- Link to Register
- Call-in number: 1-408-418-9388
- Access Code: 2345 490 0341
- Move with Confidence, 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
- Presented by: Fall Stop… MOVE STRONG™
- Audience: Older adults
- Join founder Celeste Carlucci and FallStop trainers for a fun-filled Zoom class where you will learn fall prevention tips and strategies and at-home exercises to reduce falls risk.
- Link to join Zoom Meeting
- Meeting ID: 891 1215 2648
- Passcode: 636955
- Medicine Safety and Falls Prevention - Spanish, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
- Presented by: NYC Health Department and Poison Control Center
- Audience: Older adults, caregivers, professionals, general public
- Falls prevention and medicine safety can be closely related. Learn more at this training.
- Link to register
- Call-in number: 1-408-418-9388
- Access Code: 2336 508 3333
Wednesday, September 25
- Medicine Safety and Falls Prevention - Cantonese, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
- Presented by: NYC Health Department and Poison Control Center
- Audience: Older adults, caregivers, professionals, general public
- Falls prevention and medicine safety can be closely related. Learn more at this training.
- Link to register
- Call-in Number: 1-408-418-9388
- Access Code: 2334 035 4844
Thursday, September 26
- Healthy Aging and Fall Prevention Presentation, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
- Presented by: Maimonides Medical Center and Brooklyn Public Library
- Audience: Older adults and caregivers
- This session focuses on important aspects of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and preventing injuries and will explore fall prevention strategies.
- Link to register
- LIVE with Greg Olsen: Preventing Slips and Falls, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
- Presented by: New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) and New York State Department for the Aging (NYSOFA)
- Audience: general public
- NYSOFA Director Greg Olsen and guests from the NYSDOH will share falls prevention tips and statistics.
- Link to virtual livestream on YouTube
Friday, September 27
- Age Victoriously!, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Presented by: New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Trauma Center + The Carter Burden Network
- Audience: Older adults
- A celebration of aging! Featuring Alan Castel, Ph.D, author of "Better with Age: The Psychology of Successful Aging, and more.
- Link to register
- 6th Annual Community Older Adults Falls Prevention + Healthy Aging Symposium, noon to 3 p.m.
- Presented by: New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Trauma Center and the Carter Burden Network
- Audience: health care/human service providers and other professional stakeholders
- Experts present on best practices and findings related to preventing falls among community-dwelling older adults.
- Link to register
Monday, September 23
- Falls Prevention Workshop, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
- Presented by: NYC Health Department at The Center at Red Oak
- Audience: Older adults
- Learn tips and strategies to help older adults prevent falls.
- Address: The Center at Red Oak, 135 West 106th Street, Manhattan
- Bingocize Falls Prevention Program in Staten Island, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
- Presented by: Staten Island Friendship Club at New Dorp Older Adult Center
- Audience: Older adults
- Bingocize is a 10-week health promotion program that combines exercise, health education, and bingo. Walk-ins welcome.
- Address: New Dorp Older Adult Center, 128 Cedar Grove Avenue, Staten Island
Tuesday, September 24
- Bingocize Falls Prevention Program in Staten Island
- Presented by: Staten Island Friendship Club at Mt. Loretto Older Adult Center
- Audience: Older adults
- Bingocize is a 10-week health promotion program that combines exercise, health education, and bingo. Walk-ins welcome, but guests must sign in by 10:30 a.m.
- Address: 6581 Hylan Boulevard, Staten Island
- East Harlem Falls Prevention Week, 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
- Presented by: New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Trauma Center, Carter Burden Network and Stanley Isaacs Center
- Audience: Older adults
- Falls prevention presentation by Rob Curran, Injury Prevention Coordinator at New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Trauma Center
- Address: 415 East 93rd Street, Manhattan
Wednesday, September 25
- Preventing Falls Among Older New Yorkers, 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.
- Presented by: NYC Health Department at Catholic Charities Brooklyn and Queens Dellamonica-Steinway Senior Center
- Audience: Older adults
- Learn tips and strategies to help older adults prevent falls.
- Address: 23-11 31st Road, Queens
- Preventing Falls Among Older New Yorkers, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Presented by: NYC Health Department at Brooklyn Public Library
- Audience: Older adults, caregivers, professionals, general public
- Learn tips and strategies to help older adults prevent falls, including medicine safety and home hazard correction.
- Address: Brooklyn Heights Library, 280 Cadman Plaza West, Brooklyn
- Falls Prevention Health Fair, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Presented by: NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi Medical Center
- Audience: Hospital patients, visitors and staff
- Visit Jacobi’s health fair for information on preventing falls and other health promotion strategies.
- Address: Jacobi Medical Center, Atrium between Buildings 1 and 8. 1400 Pelham Parkway South, Bronx
- Bingocize Falls Prevention Program in Staten Island, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
- Presented by: Staten Island Friendship Club at Mt. Loretto Older Adult Center
- Audience: Older adults
- Bingocize is a 10-week health promotion program that combines exercise, health education, and bingo. Walk-ins welcome, but guests must sign in by 10:30 a.m.
- Address: 6581 Hylan Blvd. Staten Island
- East Harlem Falls Prevention Celebration Week – Tai Chi, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
- Presented by: New York Presbyterian-Weill Cornell Trauma Center
- Audience: Older adults
- Come try a Tai Chi class!
- Address: 415 East 93rd Street, Manhattan
Thursday, September 26
- NYC: A Great Place to Age Well and Healthy!, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- A Health Fair presented by: NYC Aging, NYC Health Department, Aetna, MetroPlus Health, Mount Sinai, New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medicine, Asphalt Green
- Audience: Older adults, caregivers, professionals, general public
- Learn what makes your communities great places to age, and learn how you can keep up your physical and mental health.
- Address: Asphalt Green. 555 East 90th Street, Manhattan
- Falls Prevention in the Home and in the Community, 10:30 a.m. to noon
- Presented by: New York-Presbyterian Weill Cornell
- Audience: Older adults
- Join us for a workshop with tips on how to prevent falls at home and in the community.
- Address: 80-45 Winchester Boulevard, Building 4, Queens
- Preventing Falls Among Older New Yorkers, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
- Presented by: NYC Health Department at Brevoort Older Adult Club
- Audience: Older adults
- Learn tips and strategies to help older adults prevent falls.
- Address: 280 Ralph Avenue, Brooklyn
- Bingocize Falls Prevention Program in Staten Island, 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
- Presented by: Staten Island Friendship Club at New Dorp Older Adult Center
- Audience: Older adults
- Bingocize is a 10-week health promotion program that combines exercise, health education and bingo. Walk-ins welcome
- Address: 128 Cedar Grove Avenue, Staten Island
For Falls Prevention Awareness Week activities and much more, find and contact a local Older Adult Center near you.
Check your risk for falls and learn more about preventing falls with the National Council on Aging’s Falls Free CheckUp tool. To receive your score, you must supply your email address.
The Brooklyn College Diana Rogovin Davidow Speech/Language/Hearing Center provides free hearing/audiology screenings for older adults. Call (718) 951-5186 or email slhcenter@brooklyn.cuny.edu to schedule.
- Address: Brooklyn College. 2900 Bedford Avenue, Room 4400 Boylan Hall, Brooklyn
Every year, one in three Americans aged 65 and older experiences a fall. In New York City, falls are a leading cause of injury-related death and hospitalization for older adults. In addition to serious injuries and deaths, falls can affect the quality of life for older adults, sometimes making it harder for them to live independently. Although falls are common, they do not need to be a normal part of aging. Falls are preventable and everyone can help older adults avoid them.
Learn more about how falls prevention contributes to the Health of Older Adults in New York City (PDF).
Tips and Strategies
Falls can happen for many reasons. Some factors that can lead to falls include:
- Muscle weakness
- Trouble with mobility or balance
- Side effects of medications
- Fear of falling.
You can prevent falls by taking these measures:
- Make Your Home Safer: Almost half of falls occur in the home. To make your home safer, find and fix trip and fall hazards. If you work from home, be careful of computer and electrical wires. Coil the wires next to the wall and tape them down if you can.
- Be Active: Physical activity is a great way to prevent falls and many exercises can be done from your home.
- Care for Your Feet: Wear the proper footwear, even at home. Learn more about how to keep your feet healthy.
- Focus on Medicine Safety: Manage your medicine routine and pay attention to medicines that may increase your risks of falling. Call your pharmacist to discuss refills and possible delivery options.
- Talk to Your Health Care Provider: Talk to your health care provider about strategies to keep your home safe and you healthy. To help prepare for your visit, learn more about:
- Reduce Your Fear of Falling: A fear of falling is common, even among those who have not had a fall, and it can actually increase your risk of a fall.
In the event of a fall, there are strategies and tips that can help you prepare for potential falls and decrease your risk of serious injury.
Caregivers and Providers
If you are taking care of an older adult, check out the Department of Heath’s tips and resources for new and experienced caregivers.
New York City Falls Prevention Coalition
The New York City Falls Prevention Coalition brings together partners from across different sectors to leverage information and resources to reduce the incidence and burden of falls among vulnerable populations. For more information, contact the Falls Prevention Coalition at
fallsprevention@health.nyc.gov.
Additional Resources
To get free falls prevention materials by mail, call 311.
More Information
