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Policy Makers : Falls Prevention |
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Reauthorization of the Older Americans Act Reauthorization of the Older Americans Act The Home Safety Council would like to express our support for the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act (OAA) and for the critical services being provided by the Administration on Aging. There have been two hearings, one in the Senate and one in the House, regarding the Reauthorization of the OAA. Information on both hearings is listed below. Also below is the letter HSC sent to members of the House and Senate committees. Senate Hearing: On February 14, 2006 the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Retirement Security and Aging of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, chaired by Sen. Mike DeWine (R-OH), conducted a hearing on OAA reauthorization. Testimony was provided by:
To access more information and to hear the audio from this hearing please visit: http://help.senate.gov/Hearings/2006_02_14_b/2006_02_14_b.html House Hearing:
On May 24, 2005 the U.S. House Subcommittee on Select Education, chaired by Rep. Pat Tiberi (R-OH), conducted a hearing on OAA reauthorization. Testimony was provided by:
January 12, 2006
The Honorable Herb Kohl
Dear Senator Kohl: On behalf of the Home Safety Council, I would like to express our support for the reauthorization of the Older Americans Act and for the critical services being provided by the Administration on Aging. The Home Safety Council (HSC) is the only national nonprofit organization solely dedicated to preventing home related injuries that result in nearly 20,000 deaths and 21 million medical visits on average each year. Through national programs, partnerships and the support of volunteers, HSC educates people of all ages to be safer in and around their homes. HSC is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization located in Washington, D.C. According to our 2004 State of Home Safety in America TM study, conducted by the University of North Carolina Injury Prevention Research Center, falls are the leading cause of unintentional injury and death occurring in the home, and the vast majority of fall related deaths occur among people age 65 and older. For over a decade, HSC’s sole purpose has been to educate and empower Americans about making their homes a safer place to live. We work with national safety experts to help reduce thousands of preventable deaths and we strongly support S. 1531, the Keeping Seniors Safe from Falls Act of 2005, a bill created to reduce the growing public health problem of falls and fall-related injuries among older adults. We also launched "Safe Steps," an awareness building initiative for older Americans which encourages families to identify and correct potential slips and falls hazards in and around the home. In response to escalating concerns related to falls and fall-related injuries among the aging population, the Home Safety Council joined with The National Council on the Aging, the National Safety Council and the Archstone Foundation to create the Falls Free Coalition. The coalition, consisting of more than 55 national organizations and associations, represents a collaborative approach to promoting the Falls Free: National Action Plan developed at the 2004 Falls Summit where the coalition members met to discuss the growing problem of falls among older Americans. The National Action Plan is a one of its kind monograph that addresses the challenges and barriers related to a national falls prevention initiative and outlines key strategies and action steps to help reduce fall dangers for older adults.
Once again we support the passage of the reauthorization for the Older Americans Act and I hope you will consider us a resource for home safety issues important to older Americans. More information about our programs, partnerships and resources, can be found at the Home Safety Council website at www.homesafetycouncil.org. If we can ever be of assistance, please contact me at 202-330-4905 or Amgad Naguib at 703-741-7506.
Sincerely,
Patricia H. Adkins
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