Keeping Seniors Safe From Falls Act of 2004

Bill: 108-s-1217
Sponsor: Sen. Enzi, Michael B. [R-WY]
Introduced: 2003-06-09 in the Senate
Policy area: Health
Subjects: Accident prevention
Architecture and the disabled
Caregivers
Continuum of care
Disabled
Education
Federal aid to the aged
Geriatrics
Government Operations and Politics
Government publicity
Governmental investigations
Health counseling
Home repair and improvement
Housing and Community Development
Housing for the aged
Life care communities
Medicaid
Medical research
Medical screening
Medical statistics
Medicare
Nursing homes
Rehabilitation of the disabled

Summary:
action_date: 2003-06-09
text: Elder Fall Prevention Act of 2003 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to direct the Administration on Aging within the Department of Health and Human Services to: (1) oversee and support a three-year national education campaign by the National Safety Council focusing on ways to reduce the risk of elder falls and prevent repeat falls; and (2) provide grants for State coalitions for local education campaigns addressing reduction and prevention of elder falls.
Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) conduct and support research concerning various topics, including: high-risk elders, risk and protective factors, fall reduction strategies, fall prevention interventions, diagnosis and treatment of victims, barriers to adopting proven interventions, and the effectiveness of community programs in preventing assisted living and nursing home falls; (2) support the development of ways to reduce falls among very high risk elders; and (3) award grants to enable organizations to provide professional education for physicians and health professionals in elder fall prevention.
Requires the Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to oversee and support demonstration and research projects to be carried out by the Council and other qualified organizations in the following areas: (1) a multi-State demonstration project assessing the utility of targeted fall risk screening and referral programs; (2) programs designed for community-dwelling elderly; (3) programs targeting newly-discharged fall victims at high risk for second falls; and (4) private-public partnerships to develop technologies to prevent falls and prevent or reduce injuries from falls. Requires the Secretary to provide grants to design and implement fall prevention programs in residential and institutional settings and to provide one or more grants for a multi-State demonstration project to implement and evaluate fall prevention programs.
Directs the Secretary to review the effects of falls on the costs of the Medicare and Medicaid Programs and the potential for reducing costs by expanding covered services. States that such review shall include a review of reimbursement policies.
action_date: 2004-11-18
text: 
Keeping Seniors Safe From Falls Act of 2004 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to require the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) oversee and support a national education campaign focusing on reducing falls among older adults and preventing repeat falls; and (2) award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements for local education campaigns.
 
Directs the Secretary to conduct and support research to: (1) improve the identification of older adults who have a high risk of falling; (2) improve data collection and analysis to identify fall risk and protective factors; (3) design, implement, and evaluate the most effective fall prevention interventions; (4) tailor effective strategies to reduce falls to specific populations of older adults; (5) maximize the dissemination of proven, effective fall prevention interventions; (6) improve the diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of elderly fall victims; and (7) assess the risks of falls occurring in various settings.
 
Requires the Secretary to: (1) conduct research concerning the barriers to the adoption of proven fall prevention interventions; (2) conduct research to develop, implement, and evaluate the most effective approaches to reduce falls among high-risk older adults living in long-term care facilities; and (3) evaluate the effectiveness of community programs to prevent assisted living and nursing home falls among older adults.
 
Requires the Secretary to provide professional education for physicians and allied health professionals in fall prevention.
 
Directs the Secretary to oversee and support certain demonstration and research projects by qualified organizations, institutions, or consortia of qualified organizations and institutions, including: (1) a multistate demonstration project assessing the utility of targeted fall risk screening and referral programs; (2) programs utilizing multicomponent fall-intervention approaches; (3) programs designed to maximize independence and quality of life for older adults targeted at newly discharged fall victims; and (4) private sector and public-private partnerships to develop technology to prevent falls among older adults and to prevent or reduce injuries if falls occur.
 
Requires the Secretary to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to: (1) design, implement, and evaluate fall prevention programs using proven intervention strategies in residential and institutional settings; (2) carry out a multistate demonstration project to implement and evaluate fall prevention programs designed for multifamily residential settings with high concentrations of older adults; and (3) conduct evaluations of the effectiveness of such demonstration projects.
 
Directs the Secretary to review and report to Congress on the effects of falls on health care costs, the potential for reducing falls, and the most effective strategies for reducing health care costs associated with falls.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2004-12-01
text: Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
action_date: 2004-11-19
text: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
action_date: 2004-11-19
text: Message on Senate action sent to the House.
action_date: 2004-11-19
text: Received in the House.
action_date: 2004-11-18
text: Passed Senate with an amendment and an amendment to the Title by Unanimous Consent. (consideration: CR S11508-11510; text as passed Senate: CR S11509-11510; text of measure as reported in Senate: CR S11508-11509)
action_date: 2004-11-18
text: Passed/agreed to in Senate: Passed Senate with an amendment and an amendment to the Title by Unanimous Consent.(consideration: CR S11508-11510; text as passed Senate: CR S11509-11510; text of measure as reported in Senate: CR S11508-11509)
action_date: 2004-10-08
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 785.
action_date: 2004-10-08
text: Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Reported by Senator Gregg with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and an amendment to the title. With written report No. 108-395.
action_date: 2004-10-08
text: Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Reported by Senator Gregg with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and an amendment to the title. With written report No. 108-395.
action_date: 2004-09-22
text: Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
action_date: 2003-06-09
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
action_date: 2003-06-09
text: Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S7554-7555)
action_date: 2003-06-09
text: Introduced in Senate