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In Central Illinois, life-changing falls hit home

Pantagraph - 3/10/2019

March 10-- Mar. 10--BLOOMINGTON -- A year and a half ago, Linda Heidloff, an active retired teacher, had a life-altering experience.

She fell.

"That one thing changed my whole life," said Heidloff, 64, of Bloomington.

As Heidloff continues on her road to recovery, she is not alone.

Coming Monday

Read how hospitals and nursing homes are reducing risk of falls and how you can reduce your risk of falls at home.

Millions of people in the United States fall each year, including one in four older adults, but less than half of those people tell their doctor, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"It's so under-reported," said Mike O'Donnell, project manager for the A Matter of Balance program to reduce risk of falls. "People are reluctant to share data because they blame themselves and are embarrassed."

Death rates because of falls in the United States increased 30 percent from 2007 to 2016, said the CDC.

In Illinois, there were 1,210 accidental fall-related deaths in 2017, meaning a fall was the underlying or a contributing cause of death, said Melaney Arnold, public information officer for the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH). Forty-nine of those deaths were in McLean County.

During 2018, there were 33 fall-related deaths in McLean County, with an average age of 84.8, Coroner Kathy Yoder said. Through Feb. 14,there were three so far this year, she said.

Most falls leading to deaths happen where people live -- in their home or in their nursing home, Yoder said.

Meanwhile, there are thousands of emergency room visits each year to Central Illinois hospitals. For example, in McLean County in 2016, there were 199 emergency room visits by people 65 and older who had fallen repeatedly, IDPH said.

The data appears to indicate an increase in fall numbers, O'Donnell said.

One reason is because people are living longer and older people are more likely to fall because they may have medical conditions such as osteoporosis, neuropathy in the feet, high blood pressure or Parkinson's disease that puts them at greater risk for falls, said O'Donnell, who retired several years ago as executive director of the East Central Illinois Area Agency on Aging.

Or they may use medication or have vision or hearing issues that could cause them to lose their balance and fall, he said.

"But falls are not a natural part of aging," O'Donnell said. "People can fall at any age."

People who are sedentary and people who wear improper footwear also are at higher risk of falling, he said. And this tough winter with all the ice and snow resulted in more falls.

Increased attention

Aging baby boomers are more likely to seek medical attention than their parents. And medical providers are required to report fall risk management to the federal government.

Yoder thinks the increased attention is overdue.

Complications from falls, usually by older adults, are consistently among the top eight causes of death in McLean County.

"It's more than opioids, it's more than suicides, it's more than homicides," said Yoder, who is not minimizing those other deaths, she said, but pointing out that falls are common and need to get the attention they deserve.

"All these deaths are devastating to families. A fall may go unnoticed and unrecognized for a period of time," she said.

Among causes of death in McLean County because of falls are hip fractures, brain injuries, spine fractures, pneumonia because of rib fractures, sepsis because of pneumonia and subdural hematoma, Yoder said.

"For them to die of something that is largely preventable is sad," she said.

A side effect of falls is that fear of falling -- and a recognition that it could lead to injury, long-term disability and nursing home placement -- leads many older adults to stay home and become less active, said O'Donnell and Kristen Bane, caregiver adviser supervisor and geriatric counselor with Community Care Systems in Bloomington.

"Just a fear of falling can lead to social isolation," agreed Amy Funk, assistant professor of nursing at Illinois Wesleyan University. "When you're not going to church, when you're not having lunch with your friends, that social isolation can lead to depression and loneliness."

The good news is nursing homes and hospitals are taking more steps than ever before to reduce to reduce the risk of falls that lead to injuries. (See Monday's Pantagraph). And there are more programs and more information available for people to reduce their risk of falls at home and in the community.

One is A Matter of Balance, an evidence-based, eight-week program to reduce fear and risk of falls by teaching exercises to increase activity levels and improve strength and balance and confidence of older adults.

Fall prevention strategies are discussed, including how to deal with fall hazards at home, how to get up safely and letting older adults know that it's OK to ask for help. The class also teaches how to get up safely from a non-life-threatening fall.

The classes are offered from time to time throughout Central Illinois and are free of charge because they are covered by federal money, O'Donnell said. Community Care Systems has the grant to offer classes in McLean, DeWitt and Livingston counties.

One A Matter of Balance class being offered is at Historic St. Patrick Parish Hall in Bloomington. The instructors trained by O'Donnell to teach the class are IWU senior nursing students Nicole Bukowski and Maggie Arseneault.

Among the 17 participants in the class on Feb. 28 were Heidloff and Steve Meckstroth, 76, of Bloomington.

Heidloff fell about 3 1/2 years ago when she was sick and fainted. "I was black and blue," she recalled.

But the life-changing fall was a year and a half ago when she went into her bathroom without turning on the light, tripped on a towel on the floor, fell forward and hit her head on the side of the tub, suffering numerous injuries.

"For a whole year, all I did was go to doctors," she said.

"It was my first year of retirement and I actually was shut in for a while," she recalled. "I'm a very independent person and I had become dependent. That was the hardest thing. Being stuck at home was the worst. I had depressing thoughts."

Despite lingering back and leg problems, Heidloff gradually has been able to do more, walks with a cane at home and with a walker in the community.

"I'm afraid of falling again," she said of her reason for taking A Matter of Balance. "I want to do anything I can to prevent it."

"I think the exercises will help -- and the discussion around the table. It's nice to think that other people are thinking the same way," said Heidloff, whose goal is to walk without a cane.

"The big thing for me is I've learned to ask for help," she said. "It's not as embarrassing to ask for help as it is to fall."

Meckstroth has had four mini-strokes.

"Fortunately, I never had a hard fall but I've had some close calls," he said. "I've have dizzy spells and loss of balance incidents but none of them have been serious. I hope to avoid some disastrous accident that would diminish my life."

"All my doctors said I needed to take a balance class," Meckstroth said. "I'm hoping to strengthen muscles, improve balance and be more assertive."

"I've picked up the value of coming together as a group with people with similar problems," he said. "There's a lot of wisdom in this room."

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Contact Paul Swiech at (309) 820-3275. Follow him on Twitter: @pg_swiech

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