United Church Homes Receives $275,750 Grant to Implement Fall Prevention Program

By Renee DeLuca, UCC public relations coordinator

They say “use it or lose it,” and United Church Homes (UCH) is hoping their senior residents will “use it” to exercise for a great cause as they work to increase awareness of fall injuries and prevention.

UCH has been awarded a $275,750 grant from the National Council on Aging (NCOA) to launch and evaluate a new fall prevention strategy across its network of more than 75 affordable housing communities in 15 states and two Native American nations. The UCH is one of just 18 organizations nationwide selected for the award.

Falls remain the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries for older Americans, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. UCH’s two-year initiative aims to address this growing public health concern with evidence-based programming that builds strength, educates residents and reduces fear.

Fun with Future Benefits

The initiative includes two original programs originally conceptualized by UCH’s Terry Spitznagel, senior executive vice president and COO, and developed by UCH staff. UCH then reached out the HealthPro Heritage and contracted with them to provide both the educational and exercise programs.

One track, called “Stay Strong,” is a fitness program designed to improve strength and balance. The other is “Steady Steps,” educational and social engagement activities designed to focus on fall risk awareness.

“Stay Strong is the exercise piece, and Steady Steps will focus on the education side,” said Rachel Harmon, director of quality and community services with the UCH. “We’ll be live streaming the exercise class from one of our buildings, where some of our residents will be working out and other residents in other buildings can follow along. It’s going to be a lot of fun.” 

Stay Strong will include exercises geared toward flexibility, stretching, cardio, endurance, balance, strength, and coordination. Stay Steady will focus on such informational topics as understanding falls, safe mobility techniques, ergonomics and posture, and home safety.

Both programs will be delivered through live, virtual sessions on UCH’s YouTube channel and will engage more than 3,000 older adults. The virtual sessions will be livestreamed so that all UCH communities can participate. Licensed physical therapists, service coordinators and resident ambassadors will work together to lead and support program delivery.

Pre- and post-surveys following the activities will supply information that will be put into a database for study and learning. Survey data also will be sent to the NCOA for analysis as part of the nationwide grant requirements. The data, along with other data from around the country, will be used to improve the program for older adults across the country.

“We are very excited to know our data will be used for more than just our own communities. Residents have a unique opportunity to help themselves and others on a wider scale with their participation in this research project,” said Harmon. UCH is “doing this not only to reduce our residents’ anxiety about falls, and help them prevent falls in their homes, but through the research process we’ll be collecting data that will help others down the road.”

Innovation Enhancing Safety

“We are honored to receive this grant to address the critical issue of falls prevention for our affordable housing residents,” said Ken Young, president and CEO of United Church Homes. “This funding allows us to implement innovative strategies that will enhance the safety and quality of life for older adults. We are proud to be among a select group of organizations recognized for this important work.”

The program is tentatively slated to kick off later this fall. United Church Homes serves more than 7,000 older adults nationwide and is committed to transforming the experience of aging through innovative, compassionate solutions.

Read Renee DeLuca’s original story.