III 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 734 

Designating the week of September 21 through September 25, 2020, as 

‘‘National Falls Prevention Awareness Week’’ to raise awareness and 

encourage the prevention of falls among older adults. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 30 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 29), 2020 

Ms. COLLINS (for herself, Ms. ROSEN, Mr. SCOTT of South Carolina, Mr. 

CASEY, Ms. MCSALLY, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. HAWLEY, Ms. WARREN, 

Mr. BRAUN, and Ms. SINEMA) submitted the following resolution; which 

was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Designating the week of September 21 through September 

25, 2020, as ‘‘National Falls Prevention Awareness 

Week’’ to raise awareness and encourage the prevention 

of falls among older adults. 

Whereas individuals who are 65 years of age or older (referred to in this preamble as ‘‘older adults’’) are the fastest growing segment of the population in the United 

States, and the number of older adults in the United 

States will increase from approximately 56,100,000 in 

2020 to an estimated 73,100,000 by 2030; 

Whereas approximately 30 percent of older adults in the 

United States fall each year, with each 10-year increment 

in age increasing the risk of falls; 


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•SRES 734 ATS 

Whereas falls are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal 

injuries among older adults; 

Whereas, in 2018, older adults reported 35,600,000 falls, 

with approximately 8,400,000 of those falls resulting in 

an injury that limited regular activities or resulted in a 

medical visit; 

Whereas, in 2018, approximately 3,000,000 older adults were 

treated in hospital emergency departments for fall-related 

injuries, and more than 950,000 of those older adults 

were subsequently hospitalized; 

Whereas, in 2018, more than 32,000 older adults died from 

injuries related to unintentional falls, and the death rate 

from falls of older adults in the United States is expected 

to continue to sharply rise to more than 100,000 per year 

by 2030; 

Whereas, in 2015— 

(1) the total direct medical cost of fall-related injuries for older adults, adjusted for inflation, was approximately $50,000,000,000; 

(2) with respect to nonfatal falls, Medicare paid approximately $28,900,000,000, Medicaid paid approximately $8,700,000,000, and private and other payers 

paid approximately $12,000,000,000; and 

(3) overall medical spending for fatal falls was estimated to be $754,000,000; 

Whereas, if the rate of increase in falls is not slowed, the annual cost of fall injuries will surpass $101,000,000,000 

by 2030; and 

Whereas evidence-based programs reduce falls by utilizing 

cost-effective strategies, such as exercise programs to improve balance and strength, medication management, viVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:52 Oct 01, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SR734.ATS SR734

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•SRES 734 ATS 

sion improvement, reduction of home hazards, and falls 

prevention education: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) designates the week of September 21 

3 through September 25, 2020, as ‘‘National Falls 

4 Prevention Awareness Week’’; 

5 (2) recognizes that there are proven, cost-effec6 tive falls prevention programs and policies; 

7 (3) commends the 73 member organizations of 

8 the Falls Free Coalition and the falls prevention coa9 litions in 43 States and the District of Columbia for 

10 their efforts to work together to increase education 

11 and awareness about preventing falls among older 

12 adults; 

13 (4) encourages businesses, individuals, Federal, 

14 State, and local governments, the public health com15 munity, and health care providers to work together 

16 to raise awareness of falls in an effort to reduce the 

17 incidence of falls among older adults in the United 

18 States; 

19 (5) recognizes the Centers for Disease Control 

20 and Prevention for its work developing and evalu21 ating interventions for all members of health care 

22 teams to make falls prevention a routine part of 

23 clinical care; 


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•SRES 734 ATS 

1 (6) recognizes the Administration for Commu2 nity Living for its work to promote access to evi3 dence-based programs and services in communities 

4 across the United States; 

5 (7) encourages State health departments and 

6 State units on aging, which provide significant lead7 ership in reducing injuries and related health care 

8 costs by collaborating with organizations and indi9 viduals, to reduce falls among older adults; and 

10 (8) encourages experts in the field of falls pre11 vention to share their best practices so that their 

12 success can be replicated by others. 

Æ 


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