Later this week, senior citizens from the Greenville, East North Carolina area will have the opportunity to learn about ways of living longer, healthier and in a better qualitative state via the annual (2017) Healthy Aging and Wellness Expo.
This year will be particularly helpful as the event is combined with the Fall Prevention Fair. A joint event organized by the Eastern North Carolina chapter of the N.C. Falls Prevention Coalition and the Pitt Aging Coalition, the event is set to be particularly beneficial for even those who are younger. Evidence has shown that even those in their 50s can begin to suffer from problematic falls.
Further, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, almost 90 percent of the 531 emergency room visits, 69 hospitalizations and two to three fatalities reported daily in North Carolina are encountered by the elderly. Thus the Falls Prevention Coalition was set up to deal with this, identifying needs and resources and making the elderly demographic aware of what they can do to prevent or limit these falls.
According to coordinator of senior services at Vidant Health Mary Hall much can be done:
“We can check their balance and determine whether they have issues with dizziness or body positioning and movement; things going on with the way they walk and get around, which puts them at a higher risk for falls. We also know that seniors take a lot more medications, which also puts them at higher risk for falls, especially if they interact with each other.”
At the event, discussions centered around visual health, oral health, blood pressure, flu shots (this season is a good time to take care of this), assisted living, home health, mental health, end of life directives and more.