May 2 "Get Up & Go: A Falls Prevention Program" to Offer Older Adults
Free Falls Risk Screening, Health Education and Information,
at Washington DC's Union Station

Student, Resident and Trainee Volunteers Wanted!

An estimated 90,000 visitors stroll, amble, walk, dash, and sprint through Washington DC's Union Station every day. To help ensure that fewer older visitors fall -- in the station and elsewhere -- AGS and its Foundation for Health in Aging (FHA) will be offering free falls screening and education on falls prevention in the station's West Hall on Friday, May 2. The event will be run by AGS student, resident and trainee volunteers and will coincide with the Society's April 30- May 4 Annual Scientific Meeting in DC.

"More than a third of adults 65 and older fall each year, and falls are the leading cause of injuries, including fatal injuries, among older Americans," says Marc Rothman, MD, a geriatrics fellow at Yale. "This event will help identify older people at risk, while at the same time highlighting the positive role the AGS & FHA plays in the community by raising awareness and advocating on behalf of our nation's seniors."

The May 2 event, "Get Up & Go: A Falls Prevention Program," will run from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.. Booths will be set up in the main hall of Union Station, and AGS trainee volunteers will offer free Get Up & Go and Functional Reach tests. Volunteers will also distribute FHA public education materials.

The AGS and FHA are now recruiting students, residents and fellows-in-training interested in volunteering for the event, a joint undertaking of AGS Public Education Committee and the AGS/Association of Directors of Geriatric Academic Programs (ADGAP) Education committees. For more information or to sign up, visit www.americangeriatrics.org/news/meeting/2008/getup_go.shtml.

Note: All volunteers should attend the Annual Meeting's Skills Workshop Symposium on May 1 at 12:30 pm. The session will include an interactive, hands-on program designed to help develop clinical skills relevant to the care of older adults. Participants can visit 10 different skill stations during the session, one of which will be devoted to falls prevention and screening.