II 

Calendar No. 667 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1531 

[Report No. 109–362] 

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to expand and intensify programs with respect to research and related activities concerning 

elder falls. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 28, 2005 

Mr. ENZI (for himself, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. BAUCUS, Mr. 

GRASSLEY, Mrs. MURRAY, Mrs. DOLE, Mr. ISAKSON, and Mr. DURBIN) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

DECEMBER 5, 2006 

Reported by Mr. ENZI, with an amendment and an amendment to the title 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to 

expand and intensify programs with respect to research 

and related activities concerning elder falls. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Keeping Seniors Safe 

3 From Falls Act of 2005’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Falls are the leading cause of injury deaths 

7 among individuals who are over 65 years of age. 

8 (2) In 2002, falls among older adults accounted 

9 for 12,800 deaths and 1,640,000 emergency depart10 ment visits. 

11 (3) Hospital admissions for hip fractures 

12 among the elderly have increased from 231,000 ad13 missions in 1988 to 327,000 in 2001. 

14 (4) Annually, more than 80,000 individuals who 

15 are over 65 years of age sustain a traumatic brain 

16 injury as a result of a fall. 

17 (5) The total medical cost of all fall injuries for 

18 people age 65 and older was calculated in 2000 to 

19 be $19,500,000,000. 

20 (6) A national approach to reducing falls 

21 among older adults, which focuses on the daily life 

22 of senior citizens in residential, institutional, and 

23 community settings, is needed. 


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1 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE 

2 ACT. 

3 Part J of title III of the Public Health Service Act 

4 (42 U.S.C. 280b et seq.) is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating section 393B (as added by 

6 section 1401 of Public Law 106–386) as section 

7 393C and transferring such section so that it ap8 pears after section 393B (as added by section 1301 

9 of Public Law 106–310); and 

10 (2) by inserting after section 393C (as redesig11 nated by paragraph (1)) the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 393D. PREVENTION OF FALLS AMONG OLDER 

13 ADULTS. 

14 ‘‘(a) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this section are— 

15 ‘‘(1) to develop effective public education strate16 gies in a national initiative to reduce falls among 

17 older adults in order to educate older adults, family 

18 members, employers, caregivers, and others; 

19 ‘‘(2) to intensify services and conduct research 

20 to determine the most effective approaches to pre21 venting and treating falls among older adults; and 

22 ‘‘(3) to require the Secretary to evaluate the ef23 fect of falls on health care costs, the potential for re24 ducing falls, and the most effective strategies for re25 ducing health care costs associated with falls. 

26 ‘‘(b) PUBLIC EDUCATION.—The Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) oversee and support a national education 

2 campaign to be carried out by a nonprofit organiza3 tion with experience in designing and implementing 

4 national injury prevention programs, that is directed 

5 principally to older adults, their families, and health 

6 care providers, and that focuses on reducing falls 

7 among older adults and preventing repeat falls; and 

8 ‘‘(2) award grants, contracts, or cooperative 

9 agreements to qualified organizations, institutions, 

10 or consortia of qualified organizations and institu11 tions, for the purpose of organizing State-level coali12 tions of appropriate State and local agencies, safety, 

13 health, senior citizen, and other organizations to de14 sign and carry out local education campaigns, focus15 ing on reducing falls among older adults and pre16 venting repeat falls. 

17 ‘‘(c) RESEARCH.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

19 ‘‘(A) conduct and support research to— 

20 ‘‘(i) improve the identification of older 

21 adults who have a high risk of falling; 

22 ‘‘(ii) improve data collection and anal23 ysis to identify fall risk and protective fac24 tors; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) design, implement, and evaluate 

2 the most effective fall prevention interven3 tions; 

4 ‘‘(iv) improve strategies that are prov5 en to be effective in reducing falls by tai6 loring these strategies to specific popu7 lations of older adults; 

8 ‘‘(v) conduct research in order to 

9 maximize the dissemination of proven, ef10 fective fall prevention interventions; 

11 ‘‘(vi) intensify proven interventions to 

12 prevent falls among older adults; 

13 ‘‘(vii) improve the diagnosis, treat14 ment, and rehabilitation of elderly fall vic15 tims and those at high risk for falls; and 

16 ‘‘(viii) assess the risk of falls occur17 ring in various settings; 

18 ‘‘(B) conduct research concerning barriers 

19 to the adoption of proven interventions with re20 spect to the prevention of falls among older 

21 adults; 

22 ‘‘(C) conduct research to develop, imple23 ment, and evaluate the most effective ap24 proaches to reducing falls among high-risk older 


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1 adults living in communities and long-term care 

2 and assisted living facilities; and 

3 ‘‘(D) evaluate the effectiveness of commu4 nity programs designed to prevent falls among 

5 older adults. 

6 ‘‘(2) EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT.—The Secretary, 

7 either directly or through awarding grants, con8 tracts, or cooperative agreements to qualified organi9 zations, institutions, or consortia of qualified organi10 zations and institutions, shall provide professional 

11 education for physicians and allied health profes12 sionals, and aging service providers in fall preven13 tion, evaluation, and management. 

14 ‘‘(d) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—The Secretary 

15 shall carry out the following: 

16 ‘‘(1) Oversee and support demonstration and 

17 research projects to be carried out by qualified orga18 nizations, institutions, or consortia of qualified orga19 nizations and institutions, in the following areas: 

20 ‘‘(A) A multistate demonstration project 

21 assessing the utility of targeted fall risk screen22 ing and referral programs. 

23 ‘‘(B) Programs designed for community24 dwelling older adults that utilize multicompo25 nent fall intervention approaches, including 


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1 physical activity, medication assessment and re2 duction when possible, vision enhancement, and 

3 home modification strategies. 

4 ‘‘(C) Programs that are targeted to new 

5 fall victims who are at a high risk for second 

6 falls and which are designed to maximize inde7 pendence and quality of life for older adults, 

8 particularly those older adults with functional 

9 limitations. 

10 ‘‘(D) Private sector and public-private 

11 partnerships to develop technologies to prevent 

12 falls among older adults and prevent or reduce 

13 injuries if falls occur. 

14 ‘‘(2)(A) Award grants, contracts, or cooperative 

15 agreements to qualified organizations, institutions, 

16 or consortia of qualified organizations and institu17 tions, to design, implement, and evaluate fall preven18 tion programs using proven intervention strategies 

19 in residential and institutional settings. 

20 ‘‘(B) Award 1 or more grants, contracts, or co21 operative agreements to 1 or more qualified organi22 zations, institutions, or consortia of qualified organi23 zations and institutions, in order to carry out a 

24 multistate demonstration project to implement and 

25 evaluate fall prevention programs using proven interVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:53 Dec 06, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1531.RS S1531

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1 vention strategies designed for single and multi2 family residential settings with high concentrations 

3 of older adults, including— 

4 ‘‘(i) identifying high-risk populations; 

5 ‘‘(ii) evaluating residential facilities; 

6 ‘‘(iii) conducting screening to identify high7 risk individuals; 

8 ‘‘(iv) providing fall assessment and risk re9 duction interventions and counseling; 

10 ‘‘(v) coordinating services with health care 

11 and social service providers; and 

12 ‘‘(vi) coordinating post-fall treatment and 

13 rehabilitation. 

14 ‘‘(3) Award 1 or more grants, contracts, or co15 operative agreements to qualified organizations, in16 stitutions, or consortia of qualified organizations and 

17 institutions, to conduct evaluations of the effective18 ness of the demonstration projects described in this 

19 subsection. 

20 ‘‘(e) STUDY OF EFFECTS OF FALLS ON HEALTH

21 CARE COSTS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall con23 duct a review of the effects of falls on health care 

24 costs, the potential for reducing falls, and the most 


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1 effective strategies for reducing health care costs as2 sociated with falls. 

3 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 36 months after 

4 the date of enactment of the Keeping Seniors Safe 

5 From Falls Act of 2005, the Secretary shall submit 

6 to Congress a report describing the findings of the 

7 Secretary in conducting the review under paragraph 

8 (1). 

9 ‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In 

10 order to carry out this section, there are authorized to be 

11 appropriated— 

12 ‘‘(1) to carry out the national public education 

13 provisions described in subsection (b)(1), $3,000,000 

14 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 2009; 

15 ‘‘(2) to carry out the State public education 

16 campaign provisions of subsection (b)(2), 

17 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 

18 2009; 

19 ‘‘(3) to carry out research projects described in 

20 subsection (c), $8,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

21 2007 through 2009; 

22 ‘‘(4) to carry out the demonstration projects de23 scribed in subsection (d)(1), $4,000,000 for each of 

24 fiscal years 2007 through 2009; and 


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1 ‘‘(5) to carry out the demonstration and re2 search projects described in subsection (d)(2), 

3 $5,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2007 through 

4 2009.’’. 

5 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

6 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Keeping Seniors Safe 

7 from Falls and Reauthorization of the Traumatic Brain In8 jury Act’’. 

9 SEC. 2. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS RELATING TO RE10 STRUCTURING. 

11 Part J of title III of the Public Health Service Act 

12 (42 U.S.C. 280b et seq.) is amended— 

13 (1) by redesignating the section 393B (42 U.S.C. 

14 280b–1c) relating to the use of allotments for rape 

15 prevention education, as section 393A and moving 

16 such section so that it follows section 393; 

17 (2) by redesignating existing section 393A (42 

18 U.S.C. 280b–1b) relating to prevention of traumatic 

19 brain injury, as section 393B; and 

20 (3) by redesignating the section 393B (42 U.S.C. 

21 280b–1d) relating to traumatic brain injury reg22 istries, as section 393C. 


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1 SEC. 3. TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY PROGRAMS OF THE CEN2 TERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVEN3 TION. 

4 (a) PREVENTION OF TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY.— 

5 Clause (ii) of section 393B(b)(3)(A) of the Public Health 

6 Service Act, as so redesignated, (42 U.S.C. 280b–1b) is 

7 amended by striking ‘‘from hospitals and trauma centers’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘from hospitals and emergency departments’’. 

9 (b) NATIONAL PROGRAM FOR TRAUMATIC BRAIN IN10 JURY SURVEILLANCE AND REGISTRIES.—Section 393C of 

11 the Public Health Service Act, as so redesignated, (42 

12 U.S.C. 280b et seq.) is amended— 

13 (1) in the section heading, by inserting ‘‘SUR14 VEILLANCE AND’’ after ‘‘NATIONAL PROGRAM FOR

15 TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY’’; 

16 (2) by striking ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’; and 

17 (3) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

18 striking ‘‘may make grants’’ and all that follows 

19 through ‘‘to collect data concerning—’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘may make grants to States or their designees to de21 velop or operate the State’s traumatic brain injury 

22 surveillance system or registry to determine the inci23 dence and prevalence of traumatic brain injury and 

24 related disability, to ensure the uniformity of report25 ing under such system or registry, to link individuals 

26 with traumatic brain injury to services and supports, 


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1 and to link such individuals with academic institu2 tions to conduct applied research that will support 

3 the development of such surveillance systems and reg4 istries as may be necessary. A surveillance system or 

5 registry under this section shall provide for the collec6 tion of data concerning—’’. 

7 SEC. 4. STUDY ON TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY. 

8 Part J of title III of the Public Health Service Act 

9 (42 U.S.C. 280b et seq.) is amended by inserting after sec10 tion 393C the following: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 393C–1. STUDY ON TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY. 

12 ‘‘(a) STUDY.—The Secretary, acting through the Direc13 tor of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with 

14 respect to paragraph (1) and the Director of the National 

15 Institutes of Health with respect to paragraphs (2) and (3), 

16 shall conduct a study with respect to traumatic brain in17 jury for the purpose of carrying out the following: 

18 ‘‘(1) In collaboration with appropriate State and 

19 local health-related agencies— 

20 ‘‘(A) determining the incidence of traumatic 

21 brain injury and prevalence of traumatic brain 

22 injury related disability in all age groups in the 

23 general population of the United States, includ24 ing institutional settings, such as nursing homes, 

25 correctional facilities, psychiatric hospitals, child 


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1 care facilities, and residential institutes for peo2 ple with developmental disabilities; and 

3 ‘‘(B) reporting national trends in traumatic 

4 brain injury. 

5 ‘‘(2) Identifying common therapeutic interven6 tions which are used for the rehabilitation of individ7 uals with such injuries, and, subject to the avail8 ability of information, including an analysis of— 

9 ‘‘(A) the effectiveness of each such interven10 tion in improving the functioning, including re11 turn to work or school and community partici12 pation, of individuals with brain injuries; 

13 ‘‘(B) the comparative effectiveness of inter14 ventions employed in the course of rehabilitation 

15 of individuals with brain injuries to achieve the 

16 same or similar clinical outcome; and 

17 ‘‘(C) the adequacy of existing measures of 

18 outcomes and knowledge of factors influencing 

19 differential outcomes. 

20 ‘‘(3) Developing practice guidelines for the reha21 bilitation of traumatic brain injury at such time as 

22 appropriate scientific research becomes available. 

23 ‘‘(b) DATES CERTAIN FOR REPORTS.—Not later than 

24 3 years after the date of the enactment of the Keeping Sen25 iors Safe from Falls and Reauthorization of the Traumatic 


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1 Brain Injury Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Con2 gress a report describing findings made as a result of car3 rying out subsection (a). 

4 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 

5 term ‘traumatic brain injury’ means an acquired injury 

6 to the brain. Such term does not include brain dysfunction 

7 caused by congenital or degenerative disorders, nor birth 

8 trauma, but may include brain injuries caused by anoxia 

9 due to trauma. The Secretary may revise the definition of 

10 such term as the Secretary determines necessary.’’. 

11 SEC. 5. TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY PROGRAMS OF THE NA12 TIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH. 

13 Section 1261 of the Public Health Service Act (42 

14 U.S.C. 300d–61) is amended— 

15 (1) in subparagraph (D) of subsection (d)(4), by 

16 striking ‘‘head brain injury’’ and inserting ‘‘brain in17 jury’’; and 

18 (2) in subsection (i), by inserting ‘‘, and such 

19 sums as may be necessary for each of fiscal years 

20 2007 through 2010’’ before the period at the end. 

21 SEC. 6. TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY PROGRAMS OF THE 

22 HEALTH RESOURCES AND SERVICES ADMIN23 ISTRATION. 

24 (a) STATE GRANTS FOR DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS

25 REGARDING TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY.—Section 1252 of 


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1 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300d–52) is 

2 amended— 

3 (1) in subsection (a)— 

4 (A) by striking ‘‘may make grants to 

5 States’’ and inserting ‘‘may make grants to 

6 States and American Indian consortia’’; and 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘health and other services’’ 

8 and inserting ‘‘rehabilitation and other services’’; 

9 (2) in subsection (b)— 

10 (A) in paragraphs (1), (3)(A)(i), 

11 (3)(A)(iii), and (3)(A)(iv), by striking the term 

12 ‘‘State’’ each place such term appears and in13 serting the term ‘‘State or American Indian con14 sortium’’; and 

15 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘rec16 ommendations to the State’’ and inserting ‘‘rec17 ommendations to the State or American Indian 

18 consortium’’; 

19 (3) in subsection (c), by striking the term 

20 ‘‘State’’ each place such term appears and inserting 

21 ‘‘State or American Indian consortium’’; 

22 (4) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘A State that 

23 received’’ and all that follows through the period and 

24 inserting ‘‘A State or American Indian consortium 

25 that received a grant under this section prior to the 


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1 date of the enactment of the Keeping Seniors Safe 

2 from Falls and Reauthorization of the Traumatic 

3 Brain Injury Act may complete the activities funded 

4 by the grant.’’; 

5 (5) in subsection (f)— 

6 (A) in the subsection heading, by inserting 

7 ‘‘AND AMERICAN INDIAN CONSORTIUM’’ after 

8 ‘‘STATE’’; 

9 (B) in paragraph (1) in the matter pre10 ceding subparagraph (A), paragraph (1)(E), 

11 paragraph (2)(A), paragraph (2)(B), paragraph 

12 (3) in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 

13 paragraph (3)(E), and paragraph (3)(F), by 

14 striking the term ‘‘State’’ each place such term 

15 appears and inserting ‘‘State or American In16 dian consortium’’; 

17 (C) in clause (ii) of paragraph (1)(A), by 

18 striking ‘‘children and other individuals’’ and 

19 inserting ‘‘children, youth, and adults’’; and 

20 (D) in subsection (h)— 

21 (i) by striking ‘‘Not later than 2 years 

22 after the date of the enactment of this sec23 tion, the Secretary’’ and inserting ‘‘Not less 

24 than bi-annually, the Secretary’’; and 


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1 (ii) by inserting ‘‘section 1253, and 

2 section 1254,’’ after ‘‘programs established 

3 under this section,’’; 

4 (6) by amending subsection (i) to read as fol5 lows: 

6 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section: 

7 ‘‘(1) The terms ‘American Indian consortium’ 

8 and ‘State’ have the meanings given to those terms in 

9 section 1253. 

10 ‘‘(2) The term ‘traumatic brain injury’ means 

11 an acquired injury to the brain. Such term does not 

12 include brain dysfunction caused by congenital or de13 generative disorders, nor birth trauma, but may in14 clude brain injuries caused by anoxia due to near 

15 drowning. The Secretary may revise the definition of 

16 such term as the Secretary determines necessary, after 

17 consultation with States and other appropriate public 

18 or nonprofit private entities.’’; and 

19 (7) in subsection (j), by inserting ‘‘, and such 

20 sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 

21 2007 through 2010’’ before the period. 

22 (b) STATE GRANTS FOR PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY

23 SERVICES.—Section 1253 of the Public Health Service Act 

24 (42 U.S.C. 300d–53) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsections (d) and (e), by striking the 

2 term ‘‘subsection (i)’’ each place such term appears 

3 and inserting ‘‘subsection (l)’’; 

4 (2) in subsection (g), by inserting ‘‘each fiscal 

5 year not later than October 1,’’ before ‘‘the Adminis6 trator shall pay’’; 

7 (3) by redesignating subsections (i) and (j) as 

8 subsections (l) and (m), respectively; 

9 (4) by inserting after subsection (h) the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(i) DATA COLLECTION.—The Administrator of the 

12 Health Resources and Services Administration and the 

13 Commissioner of the Administration on Developmental Dis14 abilities shall enter into an agreement to coordinate the col15 lection of data by the Administrator and the Commissioner 

16 regarding protection and advocacy services. 

17 ‘‘(j) TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— 

18 ‘‘(1) GRANTS.—For any fiscal year for which the 

19 amount appropriated to carry out this section is 

20 $6,000,000 or greater, the Administrator shall use 2 

21 percent of such amount to make a grant to an eligible 

22 national association for providing for training and 

23 technical assistance to protection and advocacy sys24 tems. 


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1 ‘‘(2) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

2 ‘eligible national association’ means a national asso3 ciation with demonstrated experience in providing 

4 training and technical assistance to protection and 

5 advocacy systems. 

6 ‘‘(k) SYSTEM AUTHORITY.—In providing services 

7 under this section, a protection and advocacy system shall 

8 have the same authorities, including access to records, as 

9 such system would have for purposes of providing services 

10 under subtitle C of the Developmental Disabilities Assist11 ance and Bill of Rights Act of 2000.’’; and 

12 (5) in subsection (l) (as redesignated by this sub13 section) by striking ‘‘2005’’ and inserting ‘‘2010’’. 

14 SEC. 7. AMENDMENTS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE 

15 ACT RELATING TO ELDER FALLS. 

16 Part J of title III of the Public Health Service Act 

17 (42 U.S.C. 280b et seq.) is amended by inserting after sec18 tion 393C–1 (as added by section 4) the following: 

19 ‘‘SEC. 393D. PREVENTION OF FALLS AMONG OLDER ADULTS. 

20 ‘‘(a) PUBLIC EDUCATION.—The Secretary shall— 

21 ‘‘(1) oversee and support a national education 

22 campaign to be carried out by a nonprofit organiza23 tion with experience in designing and implementing 

24 national injury prevention programs, that is directed 

25 principally to older adults, their families, and health 


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1 care providers, and that focuses on reducing falls 

2 among older adults and preventing repeat falls; and 

3 ‘‘(2) award grants, contracts, or cooperative 

4 agreements to qualified organizations, institutions, or 

5 consortia of qualified organizations and institutions, 

6 for the purpose of organizing State-level coalitions of 

7 appropriate State and local agencies, safety, health, 

8 senior citizen, and other organizations to design and 

9 carry out local education campaigns, focusing on re10 ducing falls among older adults and preventing re11 peat falls. 

12 ‘‘(b) RESEARCH.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) conduct and support research to— 

15 ‘‘(i) improve the identification of older 

16 adults who have a high risk of falling; 

17 ‘‘(ii) improve data collection and anal18 ysis to identify fall risk and protective fac19 tors; 

20 ‘‘(iii) design, implement, and evaluate 

21 the most effective fall prevention interven22 tions; 

23 ‘‘(iv) improve strategies that are prov24 en to be effective in reducing falls by taiVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:53 Dec 06, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1531.RS S1531

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1 loring these strategies to specific popu2 lations of older adults; 

3 ‘‘(v) conduct research in order to maxi4 mize the dissemination of proven, effective 

5 fall prevention interventions; 

6 ‘‘(vi) intensify proven interventions to 

7 prevent falls among older adults; 

8 ‘‘(vii) improve the diagnosis, treat9 ment, and rehabilitation of elderly fall vic10 tims and older adults at high risk for falls; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(viii) assess the risk of falls occurring 

13 in various settings; 

14 ‘‘(B) conduct research concerning barriers 

15 to the adoption of proven interventions with re16 spect to the prevention of falls among older 

17 adults; 

18 ‘‘(C) conduct research to develop, imple19 ment, and evaluate the most effective approaches 

20 to reducing falls among high-risk older adults 

21 living in communities and long-term care and 

22 assisted living facilities; and 

23 ‘‘(D) evaluate the effectiveness of community 

24 programs designed to prevent falls among older 

25 adults. 


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1 ‘‘(2) EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT.—The Secretary, 

2 either directly or through awarding grants, contracts, 

3 or cooperative agreements to qualified organizations, 

4 institutions, or consortia of qualified organizations 

5 and institutions, shall provide professional education 

6 for physicians and allied health professionals, and 

7 aging service providers in fall prevention, evaluation, 

8 and management. 

9 ‘‘(c) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—The Secretary 

10 shall carry out the following: 

11 ‘‘(1) Oversee and support demonstration and re12 search projects to be carried out by qualified organi13 zations, institutions, or consortia of qualified organi14 zations and institutions, in the following areas: 

15 ‘‘(A) A multistate demonstration project as16 sessing the utility of targeted fall risk screening 

17 and referral programs. 

18 ‘‘(B) Programs designed for community19 dwelling older adults that utilize multicompo20 nent fall intervention approaches, including 

21 physical activity, medication assessment and re22 duction when possible, vision enhancement, and 

23 home modification strategies. 

24 ‘‘(C) Programs that are targeted to new fall 

25 victims who are at a high risk for second falls 


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1 and which are designed to maximize independ2 ence and quality of life for older adults, particu3 larly those older adults with functional limita4 tions. 

5 ‘‘(D) Private sector and public-private part6 nerships to develop technologies to prevent falls 

7 among older adults and prevent or reduce inju8 ries if falls occur. 

9 ‘‘(2)(A) Award grants, contracts, or cooperative 

10 agreements to qualified organizations, institutions, or 

11 consortia of qualified organizations and institutions, 

12 to design, implement, and evaluate fall prevention 

13 programs using proven intervention strategies in resi14 dential and institutional settings. 

15 ‘‘(B) Award 1 or more grants, contracts, or coop16 erative agreements to 1 or more qualified organiza17 tions, institutions, or consortia of qualified organiza18 tions and institutions, in order to carry out a 

19 multistate demonstration project to implement and 

20 evaluate fall prevention programs using proven inter21 vention strategies designed for single and multifamily 

22 residential settings with high concentrations of older 

23 adults, including— 

24 ‘‘(i) identifying high-risk populations; 

25 ‘‘(ii) evaluating residential facilities; 


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1 ‘‘(iii) conducting screening to identify high2 risk individuals; 

3 ‘‘(iv) providing fall assessment and risk re4 duction interventions and counseling; 

5 ‘‘(v) coordinating services with health care 

6 and social service providers; and 

7 ‘‘(vi) coordinating post-fall treatment and 

8 rehabilitation. 

9 ‘‘(3) Award 1 or more grants, contracts, or coop10 erative agreements to qualified organizations, institu11 tions, or consortia of qualified organizations and in12 stitutions, to conduct evaluations of the effectiveness of 

13 the demonstration projects described in this sub14 section. 

15 ‘‘(d) STUDY OF EFFECTS OF FALLS ON HEALTH CARE

16 COSTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct 

18 a review of the effects of falls on health care costs, the 

19 potential for reducing falls, and the most effective 

20 strategies for reducing health care costs associated 

21 with falls. 

22 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 36 months after 

23 the date of enactment of the Keeping Seniors Safe 

24 from Falls and Reauthorization of the Traumatic 

25 Brain Injury Act, the Secretary shall submit to ConVerDate Aug 31 2005 01:53 Dec 06, 2006 Jkt 049196 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1531.RS S1531

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1 gress a report describing the findings of the Secretary 

2 in conducting the review under paragraph (1).’’. 

3 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

4 Section 394A of the Public Health Service Act (42 

5 U.S.C. 280b–3) is amended by striking ‘‘$50,000,000’’ and 

6 all that follows through the period and inserting 

7 ‘‘$58,361,000 for fiscal year 2007, and such sums as may 

8 be necessary for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2010.’’. 

9 Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to direct the 

10 Secretary of Health and Human Services to expand and 

11 intensify programs with respect to research and related 

12 activities concerning elder falls and to provide for the ex13 pansion and improvement of traumatic brain injury pro14 grams, and for other purposes.’’. 


jcorcoran on PRODPC62 with BILLS
Calendar No. 667 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1531 

[Report No. 109

–362] 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Health and Human 

cerning elder falls. respect to research and related activities conServices to expand and intensify programs with 

DECEMBER 5, 2006 

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the 

title 


jcorcoran on PRODPC62 with BILLS