September is National Older Americans Fall Prevention Month. In addition, National Falls Prevention Awareness Day is Thursday, Sept. 22. This year marks the ninth annual observance, which aims to raise awareness about how to prevent fall-related injuries among older adults.

One-third of people 65 and older fall each year, resulting in more than 2 million older adults being treated in emergency departments for nonfatal fall injuries. One out of five falls causes serious injury – such as head trauma or fracture. The good news is that research has identified many risk factors that contribute to falling – and many of these are modifiable. In fact, just doing certain types of exercises can help make you less likely to fall. CLICK HERE to learn more about these fall prevention exercises! 

You can also join us on National Falls Prevention Awareness Day. Aultman will host a falls awareness expo at North Canton Medical Center from 9 a.m. to noon. Brief falls risk assessments, balance exercise demonstrations and educational materials will be offered to all participants. The event will take place in the Health Education Building, located at 6046 Whipple Ave. NW and all community members are invited to attend.

During the expo, Dr. Baum will take willing participants on a leisurely fall walk as part of Aultman’s Walk with a Doc program. She will lead the one-mile walk, which starts at 10 a.m. and will answer your health questions.

All participants who walk are also invited to participate in the Ohio Department of Aging’s second annual 10 Million Steps to Prevent Falls event. Aultman will collect the miles that each participant walks and convert them into steps. The total steps will then be added to other walkers’ totals on the National Institute on Aging website. Together, along with other Ohio walkers, the goal is to walk 10 million steps. Last year, about 4,400 Ohioans walked 13.2 million steps!