A MATTER OF SAFETY - FALLS

Hi All,
The following comes to UCO from our Safety and Health Committee Co-Chair, Mike Rayber
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On Thursday march 11th there was a fall in the UCO office. Everyone did what concerned friends would normally do, that is help her to her up. The proper and best thing to do is just make her comfortable and not move her. A standard piece of first aid equipment to have there would be a blanket. People on the floor get cold. The standard for response time for the Fire Dept is 6 minutes. Moving a person that has fallen can cause severe injuries. If there is back or neck pain moving can cause a spine injury. Most common for us are broken hips. moving can cause severe internal bleeding. This is also true for fractures in the leg. A properly trained ambulance crew would have splinted the legs together before moving her.

Falls are the biggest risk we face to our health.

You may think that Heart attacks or strokes are the big problem. You would be wrong. You are much more likely to face a nursing home or even death from a fall

Falls Among Older Adults:

How big is the problem?

More than one third of adults 65 and older fall each year in the United States

Among older adults, falls are the leading cause of injury deaths. They are also the most common cause of nonfatal injuries and hospital admissions for trauma

What outcomes are linked to hip fractures?

About one out of five hip fracture patients dies within a year of their injury.

Most patients with hip fractures are hospitalized for about one week.

Up to one in four adults who lived independently before their hip fracture has to stay in a nursing home for at least a year after their injury.

Statistics are from the CDC.

Michael Rayber EMT

Co-Chair Health and Safety Committee

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Posted by Dave Israel

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PS: The individual who fell in UCO did indeed fracture a hip.