Falls Prevention | ACL Administration for Community Living

Background and Goals

Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries for people 65 years of age and older. Every 14 seconds, an older adult is seen in an emergency department for a fall-related injury.

To help address this growing epidemic, ACL has awarded more than $8 million in grants financed solely by the Prevention and Public Health Fund.

These grants have been awarded to domestic public and private nonprofit entities, state agencies, community-based organizations, universities, and tribal organizations. ACL also funds a nonprofit organization to serve as the first-ever ACL National Falls Prevention Resource Center.

The Evidence-Based Falls Prevention Programs cooperative agreements are designed to achieve two major goals:

Goal 1: Significantly increase the number of older adults and adults with disabilities at risk of falls who participate in evidence-based community programs to reduce falls and falls risks.
Goal 2: Build partnerships and/or secure contracts with the health care sector and identify innovative funding arrangements that can support these evidence-based falls prevention programs while embedding the programs into an integrated, sustainable, evidence-based prevention program network.

Grantee Progress

Since the beginning of this grant program, more than 48,000 older adults in have taken part in evidence-based falls prevention programs such as A Matter of Balance, Stepping On, and Tai Ji Quan: Moving for Better Balance. In this time, more than 4,000 workshops have been held in every region of the United States.

The average age of a participant in an ACL-funded falls program is 76, with one in five having experienced a fall within the last three months prior to starting the program.

After taking part in the programs funded through these grants, 89 percent of participants report a reduced fear of falling. Furthermore, participants reported taking the following actions to reduce their chance of a fall:

77 percent did exercises they learned in the program at home
53 percent made changes in their home
43 percent talked to a family member or friend about how they can reduce their fall risk
27 percent had their vision checked
26 percent had their medications reviewed by a health care provider or pharmacist
21 percent talked to a health care provider or pharmacist

Fiscal Year 2018 Grants

FY 2018 Awardees

Grantee	Award Amount

Innovations for Aging, LLC, MN	$543,601
Marymount University, VA	$542,554
Michigan State University, MI	$543,601
The New York State Department of Health/Health Research, Inc., NY	$542,554
The Oasis Institute, MO	$539,839
The Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability, TN	$148,752
Tule River Indian Health Center, CA	$150,000
Washington State Dept of Health, WA	$543,554
Wyoming Department of Health, WY	$107,447
YMCA of the Suncoast, Inc., FL	$543,601

Fiscal Year 2017 Grants

**FY 2017 Awardees**
Grantee	Award Amount
University of North Carolina at Asheville, NC	$599,755
Partners in Care Foundation, Inc., CA	$600,000
United Way of Tarrant County, TX	$599,999
Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, VA	$554,561
Wisconsin Institute for Healthy Aging, WI	$468,018
Trustees of Dartmouth College, NH	$599,955
Utah Department of Health, UT	$599,760

Fiscal Year 2016 Grants

**FY 2016 Awardees**
Grantee	Award Amount
Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley, MA	$570,538
Iowa Department of Public Health, IA	$585,447
MAC, Inc., MD	$582,656
Marymount University, VA	$479,821
New Mexico Department of Health, NM	$561,955
Rush University Medical Center, IL	$367,699
Southern Maine Agency on Aging, ME	$478,779
Indian Health Council, CA	$150,000
Inter Tribal Council of AZ, Inc., AZ	$150,000
Spirit Lake Tribe, ND	$149,589

Fiscal Year 2015 Grants

Grantee	Award Amount
Partners in Care Foundation, CA	$684,000
The Oasis Institute, MO	$558,997
Dartmouth Center for Healthy Aging, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health, NH	$510,389
New Jersey Department of Human Services	$509,000
New York State Department of Health	$509,311
United Way of Tarrant County , TX	$602,799
Wisconsin Institute for Healthy Aging	$695,000

Fiscal Year 2014 Grants

**FY 2014 Awardees**
Grantee	Award Amount
National Council on Aging (serving as the Resource Center)	$400,000
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment	$400,000
Elder Services of the Merrimack Valley	$492,960
Foundation for Healthy Communities, NH	$223,100
Georgia Department of Human Services	$399,918
Hardrock Council on Substance Abuse	$100,000
Health Foundation of South Florida	$400,000
Iowa Department on Aging	$385,840
Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians	$99,999
Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians	$42,532
Minnesota Board on Aging	$500,000
Sokaogon Chippewa Community	$99,816
State of Vermont	$535,059
Utah Department of Health	$465,530

National Falls Prevention Resource Center

ACL funds a National Falls Prevention Resource Center to increase public awareness and educate consumers and professionals about falls risks and how to prevent falls. The Resource Center is housed at the National Council on Aging’s Center for Healthy Aging.

The National Falls Prevention Resource Center cooperative agreement is designed to achieve two major goals:

Goal 1: Increase public education about the risks of falls and how to prevent them.

Goal 2: Support and stimulate the implementation and dissemination of evidence-based community programs and strategies proven to reduce the incidence of falls among seniors.

The Resource Center serves as the national clearinghouse of tools, best practices, and other information on falls and fall prevention. Access these resources at their website: https://www.ncoa.org/healthy-aging/falls-prevention/.