Full Text of HJR0129 100th General Assembly
HJ0129 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Illinois residents ages 65 and older account for | 3 | | 79% of all fall deaths and 37% of nonfatal fall | 4 | | hospitalizations in Illinois; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Falls are the leading cause of traumatic brain | 6 | | injury (TBI) in Illinois residents ages 65 and older, | 7 | | accounting for 37% of TBI deaths and 56% of TBI | 8 | | hospitalizations; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Projected lifetime costs associated with fall | 10 | | injuries in 2014 among Illinois residents ages 65 and older are | 11 | | estimated to be $2.35 billion; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, An estimated 475,000 of Illinois adults ages 65 | 13 | | and older reported having fallen, and of those whom have | 14 | | fallen, 40.5% reported a fall-related injury in the past 12 | 15 | | months; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Older Illinois adults who reported the following | 17 | | conditions were significantly more likely to report falls and | 18 | | fall-related injuries in the past 12 months: poor mental | 19 | | health/depression, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary | 20 | | disease, diabetes, coronary artery disease, obesity, asthma, | 21 | | no exercise, stroke, and disability; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Older adults who reported a physical, cognitive | 2 | | and/or emotional disability had particularly high fall rates, | 3 | | with an estimated 252,000 reporting having fallen, and of those | 4 | | whom have fallen, 51.9% reporting fall-related injuries in the | 5 | | past 12 months; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Sensory and mobility loss commonly associated | 7 | | with aging make elderly pedestrians vulnerable to accidents and | 8 | | injury; pedestrian crashes resulting in death exceed 20% for | 9 | | pedestrians over age 75, compared to less than 8% for | 10 | | pedestrians under the age of 14; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Hospitals in Illinois reported a total of 61,140 | 12 | | emergency department (ED) admissions of adults 65 and older | 13 | | with repeat falls or a history of falls over 3.5 years (2013 | 14 | | through the second quarter of 2016), an average of 17,469 | 15 | | emergency department admissions annually; Cook County | 16 | | including the City of Chicago reported the highest number of | 17 | | fall-related ED admissions of older adults in Illinois: 27,994 | 18 | | over 3.5 years, an annual average of 7,998; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois Department on Aging implemented a | 20 | | Critical Event policy requiring Care Coordination Unit (CCU) | 21 | | care coordinators and contracted service providers to report | 22 | | critical events involving older adults enrolled in the |
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| 1 | | Community Care Program, serving an average monthly caseload of | 2 | | 62,000 older adults statewide; from July 12, 2017, through | 3 | | December 2017, critical event reports included: 1,220 falls | 4 | | resulting in injury, 1,553 falls without injury, 15% of ED | 5 | | visits had an associated fall (546 of 3,682), and 619 falls led | 6 | | to an unanticipated hospitalization; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois Falls Prevention Coalition | 8 | | representing 150 members across the State, supports the | 9 | | delivery of evidence-based programs designed to reduce fall | 10 | | risk and enhance networking among individuals with an interest | 11 | | in fall prevention; the Coalition in partnership with White | 12 | | Crane Wellness Center in Chicago has produced a Resource | 13 | | Directory on Falls Prevention in Illinois, and the Coalition | 14 | | publishes a quarterly newsletter to disseminate information | 15 | | about falls prevention resources and activities; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, The University of Illinois at Chicago faculty was | 17 | | awarded a $2.5 million, three-year grant entitled ENGAGE-IL | 18 | | (ENhancement of Geriatric Care for All through TraininG and | 19 | | Empowerment); the project was funded by the Health Resources | 20 | | and Services (HRSA) as part of its Geriatrics Workforce | 21 | | Enhancement Program; the products resulting from the project | 22 | | include a series of on-line, continuing education courses on | 23 | | topics relevant to primary care in geriatrics, including falls | 24 | | prevention; the educational and training materials developed |
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| 1 | | through this project will be widely disseminated throughout | 2 | | Illinois, and nationally; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Rush University Medical Center in collaboration | 4 | | with the Illinois Community Health and Aging Collaborative, and | 5 | | Illinois Pathways to Health, administers a grant from the | 6 | | federal Administration for Community Living to disseminate A | 7 | | Matter of Balance, an evidence-based falls prevention program | 8 | | for older adults and adults with disabilities; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Research has shown that older adults who have | 10 | | participated in A Matter of Balance have made significant | 11 | | improvements in their level of falls management (the degree of | 12 | | confidence participants perceive concerning their ability to | 13 | | manage the risk of falls and of actual falls), falls control | 14 | | (the degree to which participants perceive their ability to | 15 | | prevent falls), level of exercise, and social limitations with | 16 | | regard to concern about falling; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Rush University Medical Center and 28 host | 18 | | organizations across Illinois have engaged 60 Master Trainers | 19 | | and 120 Coaches, to conduct over 71 Matter of Balance | 20 | | Workshops, enrolling 784 older adults, and achieving a | 21 | | completion rate of 79%; Illinois seniors can find A Matter of | 22 | | Balance Workshop nearest them by contacting their Area Agency | 23 | | on Aging or visiting the Illinois Pathways to Health website |
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| 1 | | at: www.ilpathwaystohealth.org; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, For older adults to remain involved and connected | 3 | | in their communities, the built environment must encourage | 4 | | mobility and provide a range of options for people to get where | 5 | | they need and want to go, as well as for their friends, family, | 6 | | and caregivers to get to them; thoughtfully designed and | 7 | | well-maintained street infrastructure and transportation | 8 | | options provide residents of all ages with access to the | 9 | | services and amenities that make neighborhoods vibrant and | 10 | | residents healthier; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Communities can improve mobility by embracing | 12 | | complete streets policies, streets that accommodate all kinds | 13 | | of transportation and are suitable and safe for people of all | 14 | | ages and abilities; complete streets are an age-friendly | 15 | | solution to ensuring that residents of all ages have the | 16 | | opportunity to traverse their neighborhoods and age safely and | 17 | | comfortably; therefore, be it
| 18 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 19 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE | 20 | | CONCURRING HEREIN, that we declare September 22, 2018 as Falls | 21 | | Prevention Awareness Day in the State of Illinois; and be it | 22 | | further |
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That we urge older Illinoisans to take control of | 2 | | their health and prevent falls by following these steps: (1) | 3 | | improve balance, strength, and flexibility by finding a good | 4 | | balance and exercise program in their community, such as A | 5 | | Matter of Balance, (2) talk to their health care provider, ask | 6 | | for an assessment of their risk of falling, and share their | 7 | | history of recent falls, (3) regularly review their medications | 8 | | with their doctor or pharmacist, and take medications as | 9 | | prescribed, (4) get their vision and hearing checked annually | 10 | | and update their eyeglasses, (5) keep their home safe by | 11 | | removing tripping hazards, increase lighting, make stairs | 12 | | safe, and install grab bars in key areas, and (6) talk to their | 13 | | family members and enlist their support in taking simple steps | 14 | | to stay safe; and be it further | 15 | | RESOLVED, That we commend the Illinois Falls Prevention | 16 | | Coalition, healthcare professionals, and community-based | 17 | | organizations for offering falls risk screenings, educational | 18 | | workshops to address concerns about falls, and exercise | 19 | | programs to enable older adults to improve their strength and | 20 | | balance; we further commend communities in Illinois for | 21 | | implementing complete streets policies to make the built | 22 | | environment suitable and safe for people of all ages and | 23 | | abilities; and be it further
| 24 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be |
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| 1 | | presented to the Illinois Falls Prevention Coalition as a | 2 | | symbol of our respect and esteem.
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