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- October 2019

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Visiting Angels of West Springfield held a Fall Prevention event & workshop at the Genesis House in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. As an Independent Living Facility, the Genesis House is home to dozens of seniors and older adults who continue to live active lifestyles in a safer environment than living alone. Visiting Angels Director, Joe Arduino, spoke at the event and covered a variety of topics including the significance of falls, identifying risk factors for falls and tips for fall prevention. With millions of older adults at risk of significant injury or death from simple falls, preventing these mistakes can saved your loved one.

Identifying these risk factors are the most important first step. Some risk factors that are signals from the individual include:

• Loss of strength
• Loss of balance
• Shuffling of feet
• Confusion
• Poor eyesight
• Decreased sensation in the feet
• Weakness in the legs

If you or a loved one shows symptoms of one of the above, or a variety of other symptoms that tend to arrive at an older age, that individual may be at a greater risk for falling, and therefore the risk of injury or death

A few simple tips and tricks to help prevent falls include:

• Repairing loose floorboards or carpeting
• Hiring a home healthcare agency
• Installing better lighting, especially on stairways
• Having assisted home care help from caregivers
• Grab bars at the toilet and in the shower
• Assistance with showering and bathing
• Repairing uneven floor surfaces or highlighting small steps

With over half of all falls occurring in one’s home, these simple steps can help prevent injury, medical bills and expenses and the headache and heartache associated with falls. If a loved one shows signs of the above symptoms, or if you believe their living environment is not up to safe standards, Visiting Angels of West Springfield may be able to help. Visiting Angels provides in-home care similar to home healthcare agencies in Springfield, MA and surrounding towns in the Western Mass region. When deciding which homecare agency to use, consider Visiting Angels, a provider in the Greater Springfield Area, for over 20 years, and rated as one of the top agencies in Western Massachusetts.

For more information, or to schedule a consultation, call Joe Arduino, Agency Director, at (413)733-6900 or reach out via email at jarduino@visitinganegls.com.

Each Visiting Angels agency is a franchise that is independently owned and operated. The Franchisor, Living Assistance Services Inc., does not control or manage the day to day business operations of any Visiting Angels franchised agency.