In-home Falls Among Senior Citizens Reach Epedemic Proportions!!!

Dec. 8, 2008 - PRLog -- Indianapolis, IN—The Baby Boomer generation has the largest numbers in history.  Facts are that their senior years are not far off and boomers are finding themselves responsible for caring for their elderly parents who are afflicted right now with the epidemic of falling within the home.  In 2005 alone 15,800 people 65 and older died from injuries related to unintentional falls and more than 433,000 these hospital admissions resulted from falling out of bed according to the Center for Disease Control (2008).  Loss of independence, pride and humiliation are big factors for silence, accepting falls as part of the aging process—and sadly it’s not a matter of if but when it will happen.  The SureStep Illuminated Safety Mat by Guardianglo provides help!  www.guardianglo.com

In a February 2005, CBS Early Show interview with the president of the National Safety Council, Alan McMillan, stresses, "The real issue is that about 13,000 people over 65 will die in America of a fall every year. And 10,000 of them are dying in their homes or residential facilities they live in. And falls don't discriminate. They affect you whether you're wealthy, poor, male or female. They cut across all socio-economic lines." McMillan also suggests part of the problem is complacency. We've just come to expect that the seniors in our lives will eventually fall and break a hip. He says, "Most of us accept falling as a byproduct of aging. It is not. Almost without exception, these falls are preventable."

Seriousness of falls—the facts:

·         More than one third of adults 65 and older fall each year in the United States (Hornbrook et al. 1994; Hausdorff et al. 2001).   www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/adultfalls.htm

·         In a 2007 article posted by Disabled-World, “Cushioned Floor Mats positioned next to the bed can provide cushioning and distribute the forces on the body.”  www.disabledworld.com/artman/publish/bedfalls.shtm

·         The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons reports that each year more than 11 million seniors experience a fall-related injury.  http://www.gov.mb.ca/healthyliving/docs/injuries_falls.pdf

·         A study in 2000 shows that treatment of related injuries and complications associated with such falls costs the United States more than $20.2 billion annually.  Conclusions: Fall related injuries among older adults, especially among older women, are associated with substantial economic costs. Implementing effective intervention strategies could appreciably decrease the incidence and healthcare costs of these injuries. http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/cgi/reprint/12/5/290.

·         The National Patient Safety Foundation, National Center for Patient Safety and many nursing associations’ research and work to help prevent falls in healthcare facilities.  A most astounding find was that most falls occur as patients are getting out of bed, walking, climbing over side rails (Lane 1999; Mosely 1998).  www.ahincorp.com/falls/research.php

·         Falls in older people are a significant problem causing both injury and loss of independence, says new guidance from the National Institute for Clinical Excellence on the assessment and prevention of falls. www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/

In response to this ever-increasing societal issue, Mensa Technology of Indianapolis, IN and Portland, OR rolls out the SureStep Illuminated Safety Mat by Guardianglo™.  Created to assist seniors getting in and out of bed, the mat’s design is simple yet effective, providing indirect lighting of a soft, soothing green glow.  The mat affords solid, secure foot placement in a dark room.

The SureStep Illuminated Safety Mat:

The unique, patented, technologically-advanced mat is composed of the highest medical quality available.  Computer components, LEDs and state-of-the-art fiber optic technology enable the mat’s energy-efficient lighting to last over 10 years, costing only $1 a month to operate 24/7.  Soft, attractive and high-tech in appearance, the maintenance-free, low profile, clear mat requires no assembly.  Most importantly, it provides the user freedom and self assurance and may be used at home and in nursing homes, hospitals or other care facilities.  The SureStep Illuminated Safety Mat is available exclusively online at www.endfallsnow.com.

How the project materialized:

Hearing the dramatic statistics and realizing his own parents fit the category, original creator of the SureStep Illuminated Safety Mat Steve Brockman shares, “My great grandmother was an inspiration to many people in several small towns where we grew up in the Midwest.  She was skating on ice in her 80’s and was amazingly spry in her 90’s.  She fell one evening getting out of bed to go to the bathroom and died shortly after as a result of that fall just before she was to turn 100!”

Recently, Brockman and a friend were discussing newly-available LED technology.  As a result, the concept of this mat was born.  He took the idea to his longtime friend Steve Batti, a successful and accomplished engineer with a penance for green technology, which resulted in the joint partnership of Mensa Technology.  A great believer in the SureStep Illuminated Safety Mat, Batti shares, “The future of lighting is going to low-voltage, energy efficient lighting.  Conventional candescent lighting will soon be a thing of the past.”  In conclusion, “This mat is an exciting venture for us because of the technology usage and the opportunity to help many people.”

Personal crisis convinces Brockman he’s on the right track!

During the process of pulling the project together, Brockman faced yet another personal experience that convinced him that the SureStep Illuminated Safety Mat was relevant and necessary.  “Within this past year my step-father experienced a fall in the home which landed him in hospital with a femur broken in 3 places.  Our family was faced with the very problem we are trying to eliminate.  I have literally had first-hand experience at taking care of details associated with a senior citizen that has been a victim of a fall.  In truth, the passion to get this product on the market dramatically increased,” he concludes.  

Focus Group—results confirm the need for the SureStep Illuminated Safety Mat!

To ensure the mat met the needs of potential users, the Guardianglo team held focus groups with Boomers and Seniors.  Both groups understood the concept clearly and both recognized the need.  These seniors had what might be termed as ‘heart knowledge’ level of the potential impact of falls on their lifestyle (protracted healing time, fear of falling, and long-term limiting consequences) because they had first-hand experience.  When asked if they could see themselves using this product, the Seniors in more fragile health were more open to using this than were those who were in better health.  Some saw this as less intrusive with less of an implied ‘fragile health condition’ as compared to, for example, a walker and consequentially they were more receptive to it.  In the Boomers’ group several of the participants were married to disabled spouses and these individuals related very positively to the product.

In conclusion, "The outcome for a person 65 or older with a serious fall who's broken a hip is not good," McMillan laments. "Twenty-five percent of those people will die within six months. Another 25 percent will never return to full, normal functioning.  And another 35 percent will live a substantially disabled way of life."

Mensa Technology is dedicated to providing the highest quality of green technology usage to benefit people in their daily lives.  A series of products are scheduled to be unveiled throughout the next year.  For more information on the SureStep Illuminated Safety Mat by Guardianglo, visit the website at www.Guardianglo.com.

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