So would you improve your health if you knew that you could? Most falls in our area can be prevented. SHiM was created to prevent and care for those falls in our area by Valley Assistance Services, Green Valley Volunteer Fire Corp, and Green Valley Volunteer Clearinghouse. These partners have worked together to address falls since 2011.
Chris Kang, executive director, and Chris Erickson, RN at Valley Assistance Services, recently presented its SHiM PC (Safety and Health in Motion, Prevention & Care) program to Green Valley Rotarians. Through a grant awarded last fall from Freeport McMoran Foundation, our SHiM PC fall prevention program will lead the way in taking care of community. This grant allows those who want to learn about fall risks a free visit by professionals and the tools they made need to eliminate falls. It allows also the SHiM PC program to collect and research it’s data for quality improvement and national recognition.
SHiM Prevention & Care has been created as an evidence-based program, with mutli-aspects or factors that may lead to a fall. A partnership with the University of Arizona, Colleges of Nursing, Medicine and the Arizona Center on Aging includes a more expanded data collection, intervention and education, and database. SHiM PC includes medical and environmental indicators and a more medical focus with a professional nursing component to assess. Registered nurses will assess for medical fall risk indicators, perform health screenings, and medical changes that might lead to a fall. While the RN discusses fall risks with the participant, the Green Valley Volunteer Fire Corps assesses the environment for fall hazards. Participants receive a reach stick, a package of night lights and a smoke alarm with the program. SHiM PC continues to follow with participants two times after the initial visit, and helps with advocacy to prevent future falls.
An older adult falls every second of every day, and one in four older adults reported a fall in 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). With our growing number of falls, Valley Assistance Services and the Green Valley Volunteer Fire Corp champion fall prevention and have partnered closely to reduce the number of falls in our community. We all have different risk factors that could contribute to falls, and 75 percent of these can be prevented. Just like we know our test results or lab values, we need to know our fall risk factors and how to reduce or eliminate them. SHiM PC is about education, prevention, and care. We care for this community.
Call Valley Assistance Services today, 625-5966, to arrange your complementary SHiM home visit.