Creating a Falls Prevention Coalition in Your Community

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Creating a Falls Prevention Coalition in Your
Community
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Olmsted County Falls Prevention Coalition
CREATING A FALLS PREVENTION COALITION IN YOUR
COMMUNITY Presented by Daniel Jensen Olmsted
County Preventive Health Services Corrine
Erickson Olmsted County Home Community Care
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Coalition Development

• Community Assessment creates foundation of local
  need
• Provides validation for resource expenditure
• Documents need for stakeholders and grant sources

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Research Leading Causes

• Medication Interactions
• Exercise Regularly
• Home Safety

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Coalition Development

• Identify Community Partners
• Medical
• Governmental
• First Responders
• Private/Non-Profit
• Develop Partnerships

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Coalition Members

• Elder Network
• Gold Cross
• Golden Living Center
• Mayo Clinic
• Olmsted County Public Health
• Olmsted County Sheriffs Department
• Olmsted County Social Services

• Olmsted Medical Center
• Rochester Fire Dept
• Rochester Police Dept
• Senior Center
• SE MN Area Agency on Aging
• Volunteers in Public Safety

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Coalition Outcome Objectives

• Keep people living in their home through falls
  prevention
• Improve individual quality of life through
  reduced accidental injury
• Reduce burden on medical and first responder
  resources

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Coalition Mission Statement

• Provide a network of services for citizens gt 65
  yrs of age to help decrease the number of falls
  and severity of falls in order to maintain
  independence in their home

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Strategy Development Process

• Define systems and identify gaps
• Review weaknesses
• Construct strategies to close the loops
• Develop/find resources to support strategies
• Build communication and interfaces
• Evaluation

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Specific Coalition Strategies

• Community Education
• Facilitation of First Responder to Physician
  Communication
• Home Safety Inspection
• Develop Community Resources

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Coalition Strategies Community Education

• Community Education
• Define Coalition information about falls
  prevention to the people who need it
• Review Trainings are hit and miss (who is the
  target population?)
• Construct A plan to target specific groups for
  training access listeners who need this
  information
• Develop Variety of educational materials
  PowerPoint, DVD, brochure, items that advertise
  the coalition
• Build Relationships with community groups,
  churches, community education, health fairs
• Evaluate Track of persons attending
  educational presentations, track inspection
  resulting from education (who referred you?)

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Coalition Strategies Physician Communication

• Facilitation of First Responder to Physician
  Communication
• Define Repeat home falls requiring First
  Responder Assistance
• Review No physician follow up or resource
  referrals
• Construct Open communication to physicians and
  other referral resources
• Develop Letter of communication/decision tree
  document
• Build Train first responders, relationship with
  medical facilities
• Evaluate Distributed letters tracked, VIPS
  referrals logged

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Coalition Strategies Home Safety Inspection

• Home Safety Inspection
• Define Persons over age 65 are falling in their
  homes due to health concerns and hazards within
  the home
• Review Persons at risk of falls unaware service
  is available, fearful of the process, may require
  follow up on recommendations
• Construct Education that dispels fears,
  communication with consumers support system
  (i.e., family case manager, parish nurse, doctor,
  etc) to follow up on recommendations
• Develop Consumer-friendly referral and
  inspection process
• Build Train VIPS volunteers, relationships with
  formal and informal consumer supports
• Evaluate Consumer/family evaluation (track of
  inspections completed?)

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Coalition Strategies Home Safety Inspection

• Develop Community Resources
• Define Olmsted County has HIGHEST rate of
  deaths due to falls in MN community problem
• Review Provider community may be aware of
  problem, efforts not coordinated other
  community may not know costs
• Construct Bring providers dealing with fall
  prevention together, other community members
  financial support
• Develop Education among provider groups,
  education to groups who could provide financial
  support to coalition
• Build Train the trainer?
• Evaluate ???

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Coalition Strategies Home Safety Inspection

• Free Service of Falls Coalition
• Inspectors T-Shirts have VIPS Emblem
• ID Badges will have VIPS and Rochester Police
  Dept
• Two People on Inspection Team
• Inspectors Trained by Falls Coalition and VIPS
• Background Checks Done on All Inspectors

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Coalition Strategies Home Safety Inspection
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Funding Opportunities Expanding Core Work

• Coalition Brochure
• Video Production
• UCare Client Outreach
• Advertising/Promotional Items
• Education Materials
• Community Education Classes/Health Fairs
• Mitigation Supplies/Installation
• Support/Training for VIPS