National Falls Prevention Awareness Day

Last Sunday, September 22nd, was national Falls Prevention Awareness Day. According to the National Council on Aging, "Every 15 seconds, an older adult is seen in an Emergency Department for a fall-related injury." You can help prevent falls from happening by removing tripping hazards from the home, making sure you get regular vision and hearing checks, and exercising. Below is an infographic from the National Council on Aging with more information (you can click on the graphic to get to a larger version):

September is World Alzheimer's Month

The theme for World Alzheimer's Month 2013 is "Dementia: a journey of caring".  This event is a way to increase awareness of Alzheimer's disease, which is the most common form of dementia. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 35.6 million people have dementia worldwide and 5 million Americans aged 65 years or older have Alzheimer's disease. The number of Alzheimer's cases in the United States is predicted to nearly triple in the future. In addition, Alzheimer's disease is currently the 6th leading cause of death among adults aged 18 years or older. The CDC reports that the direct and indirect costs of dementia among those aged 70 and over totaled an estimated $159 billion to $215 billion in 2010.

Do you know the signs of Alzheimer's disease? It can be hard to separate normal age-related change from the symptoms of Alzheimer's. The Alzheimer's Association lists 10 warning signs for this disease here. If you would like to get involved in raising awareness about Alzheimer's disease, you can see a list of events here.

Healthy Eating Resources

The National Institute on Aging has a new online nutrition resource called "What's on your plate? Smart Food Choices for Healthy Eating". This site includes sections about:

• Important Nutrients to Know
• Plans For Healthy Eating
• Healthy Lifestyle Advice
• Shopping Tips
• Food Safety
• Common Nutrition Questions and Answers
• and a "Learn More" section, which includes information about getting help with food costs.

There are also other Senior nutrition resources from other government agencies, such as:

• Eating Well as You Get Older
• Healthy Eating After Fifty
• What Does Healthy Eating Mean? by Go4life

The National Institute on Aging created the following video about "Eating for Health":

National Grandparents Day

National Grandparents Day is the first Sunday after Labor Day, which is September 8th this year. Marion H. McQuade first championed the idea for this celebration and her descendants created a nonprofit organization, the National Grandparents Day Council. The organization website states:

"Our goals are to honor grandparents and to strengthen
the bond between grandparents and grandchildren.
Additionally, we strive to draw compassionate attention
to the eldest of society's elderly--those in nursing homes."

How can you celebrate National Grandparents Day? The National Grandparents Day Council has a "Forget-Me-Not" Nursing Home Visitation program. The idea is to visit isolated, homebound elderly people or elderly people who live in a nursing home.  According to the Council,  "statistics state that as many as sixty percent of nursing home residents NEVER have a visitor." 

You can make a big difference in someone's life by visiting and talking with them. You can set up these visits by contacting local nursing home staff or contacting local eldercare programs. You can learn more about the "Forget Me-Not" program here.

President Jimmy Carter approved the first National Grandparent's Day in 1978. Every year, the U.S. Census Bureau provides statistics about grandparents and their role in society. Here are some highlights of the 2012 statistics (these statistics are from the 2011 American Community Survey):

• 7 million grandparents had grandchildren under the age of 18 living with them.
•  5.5 million children in the U.S. live with a grandparent.
•  2.7 million grandparents are responsible for the basic needs of at least one grandchild.

You can read the whole article here .