SACRAMENTO –Recognizing that falls are the leading cause of fatal injury among older adults, State Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) introduced legislation today to assist older and disabled adults with home modifications to help reduce the risk of falling and allow more Californians to age independently in their homes as long as possible.
Senate Bill 280 requires the Department of Aging to work with Area Agencies of Aging to provide fall prevention information, education, and services to adults who are at risk of falling and could not otherwise afford to make the changes on their own. Under SB 280, the Area Agencies on Aging will be responsible for providing home assessments as well as funding for injury prevention needs, such as installing grab bars and handrails.
The bill also asks the Building Standards Commission to include, at its next triennial review, specified fall prevention structural features designed to prevent falls and facilitate aging in place in new house construction going forward. These features may include but are not limited to such concepts as one ground-level entry, wide interior doors, adequate space in bathrooms and kitchens for maneuverability, blocking in bathrooms to allow future grab bar installation, reachable electrical controls, and a step-free path through the entire ground floor.
“For many of our older adults and others at risk of falling who are on reduced or fixed incomes, simple improvements to make their homes safer could mean the difference between remaining in their homes or having to seek institutional care. SB 280 is a common sense solution to save lives, reduce medical costs, and allow more adults to live safely and independently in their homes,” said Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson.
More than 700,000 Americans are hospitalized every year because of a fall injury, most often due to a broken hip or head injury. In 2013, direct medical costs for falls – what patients and insurance companies pay – totaled $34 billion, with Medicare picking up roughly 78 percent of those costs. Because the U.S. population is aging, both the number of falls and the costs to treat fall injuries are likely to rise.
SB 280 bill is sponsored by the California Senior Legislature, a volunteer organization that advocates to help preserve and enhance the quality of life for older Californians and their families. “In order to address California’s housing crisis, we all know we need to build more housing. SB 280 uses this need as an opportunity to make that housing suitable for people to age in place by incorporating features that will prevent falls. Even a middle-aged family may find the need to bring an aging family member into their house. SB 280 will not only allow them to do so relatively easily, but save them significant money in reconstruction or moving costs,” said California Senior Legislator Lauren Rolfe.
Senator Jackson also introduced Senate Bill 228 this year to call for a Master Plan on Aging and appoint an Aging Czar to address the needs of California’s aging population. In his recent State of the State address, Governor Gavin Newsom highlighted California’s quickly growing aging population and called for such a Master Plan on Aging.
Jackson represents the 19th Senate District, which includes all of Santa Barbara County and western Ventura County.