As we move forward, we will be looking for continuous feedback from the health and safety community that helps us advance this Agenda in the months ahead. Now I d like to ask Alan McMillan to discuss some of the specific issues in the Agenda. As Jerry indicated, the Safety Agenda for the Nation concentrates on those problems which result in the largest number of unintentional disabling injuries and deaths. Last year falls in the home and community caused or led to 15,900 deaths. Eight out of 10 of those killed by falls are over age 65, and falls are the leading cause of injury-related death among the very elderly, those over 85.
Falls are also the leading cause of injuries and hospital admissions for older adults.
You would probably guess that the most serious common injury resulting from such falls is hip fracture. But what most people don t realize is that more than 24 percent of all older people suffering from a hip fracture die within one year of the fall. What s equally appalling is that another 50 per cent never regain their previous degree of mobility or independence. In other words, only one in four older people who suffers a hip fracture is able to return to a normal life. This problem has been growing steadily in the last few years, and it has the potential to grow even worse as the U.S population continues to age.