We are very excited to announce we are going to be bringing a No Falls Program to the Blackwood Recreation Centre that we hope will be an ongoing service. It is currently a pilot project that is being funded through a grant from the State Government Grant for Seniors program. With a growing need in the local community, we hope we can improve the health and safety of the older demographic in the Mitcham Community.
The No Falls Program is an exercise program that is designed for people aged 65 and up who are at risk of or have had a fall. The program will consist of a 10-week block with hopefully 40 participants. Participants will be split into smaller groups (6-8 people) and 5-6 different groups will be running every week. Clients will be put into groups on a Tier system to attempt to match participants that have similar ability levels.
Before participants begin the program, they will be assessed by an Exercise Physiologist at the beginning and end of the program to check their ability level and what the next step is in their progression e.g. moving on to other programs (Strength for Life) or progressing into the next tier of the No Falls Program.
To help make the initial pilot more accessible for the launch, we are offering the assessments free of charge. Clients will only be required to pay $8 a session ($80 total) for the 10 weeks.
Participants will be given easy to follow hand-outs that involve basic strength and balance exercises that they will be encouraged to perform at home. They will also be provided with a weekly, “work-sheet”, to tick and indicate what exercises they have carried out. The objective is to mentor and encourage the acceptance of doing these exercises if they want to prevent a fall
Start Date; 11th October
End Date: 17th December
Information Session
Thursday 19th – 10am – 12pm
Bookings Essential – Please call the Rec Centre to book on 8278 8833
If you can’t make the information session but would still like to be involved in the program, please contact us and we can register your interest.
Statement of Need
Falls are Australia’s largest contributor to hospitalised injury cases and a leading cause of injury deaths. In 2017–18, 42% of hospitalised injury cases and 40% of injury deaths were due to falls.
The average length of stay in hospital due to injury has remained constant at 4 days. This equates to more than 1.7 million hospital days for the 480,000 cases in 2014–15.
In 2019 in South Australia 24,340 people were admitted to public hospitals injured after a fall with 70% over 65. A total of 405 older people died in hospital as a result of injuries from a fall (Government of South Australia-SA Health).
Falls occur for a number of reasons including for example changes in health, muscle weakness, reduced balance, medications and reduced eyesight. Falls can result in reduced activity levels, loss of function/independence or fear of falling and thus have a major impact on the health and wellness of our community.
Many falls services in the southern area provide great initial care, but most of the follow up is based on short term outcomes. Our program aims to not only reduce the risk of falls but also lead to long term solutions. Once a person has completed our ten-week program, the reassessment is used to decide if they need to repeat the program, move up or down tiers or move onto other programs (just as COTA’s Strength for Life).
Key Players
Lia Button – Exercise Physiologist
Steve Woods – Program Coordinator
Phil Danze, Debbie Clancey & Marinus Haccou – Fitness Trainers
Ian Bracken – Project Liaison
