2013-2014
News Release
REF NO.: 81
SUBJECT: Watch your step: Staying active and on your feet as you age
DATE: January 31, 2014
Approximately one-third of adults over 65 fall each year. According to Statistics Canada, 60 per cent of injuries in those over 65 are fall related. Most of these falls occur in the home.
Memorial University’s School of Human Kinetics and Recreation (HKR) is hoping to change those statistics. The school is hosting a community event on Monday, Feb. 3, to help empower seniors to stay on their own two feet. It’s an interactive session meant to not only inform but start conversations and answer questions around falls.
Drs. Jeannette Byrne and Angela Loucks-Atkinson, along with Sherry Kennedy, a regional health educator with Eastern Health— experts in healthy aging—will be there. Dr. Byrne says the goal is to help seniors prevent falls, stay active and overcome barriers.
“A lot of seniors don’t realize how changing a few things around their home will go a long way towards preventing a fall,” said Dr. Byrne. “Many also don’t realize that even though there is a high rate of falls with seniors, it is not a natural part of aging. There are so many things they can do to prevent it.”
The event takes place from 10 a.m-12 p.m. at Park Place Community Centre in Mount Pearl. Admission is free. Seniors and their caregivers are invited to attend. This event is sponsored by the Royal Society of Canada.
For more information, visit www.mun.ca/hkr.
REF NO.: 81
SUBJECT: Watch your step: Staying active and on your feet as you age
DATE: January 31, 2014
Approximately one-third of adults over 65 fall each year. According to Statistics Canada, 60 per cent of injuries in those over 65 are fall related. Most of these falls occur in the home.
Memorial University’s School of Human Kinetics and Recreation (HKR) is hoping to change those statistics. The school is hosting a community event on Monday, Feb. 3, to help empower seniors to stay on their own two feet. It’s an interactive session meant to not only inform but start conversations and answer questions around falls.
Drs. Jeannette Byrne and Angela Loucks-Atkinson, along with Sherry Kennedy, a regional health educator with Eastern Health— experts in healthy aging—will be there. Dr. Byrne says the goal is to help seniors prevent falls, stay active and overcome barriers.
“A lot of seniors don’t realize how changing a few things around their home will go a long way towards preventing a fall,” said Dr. Byrne. “Many also don’t realize that even though there is a high rate of falls with seniors, it is not a natural part of aging. There are so many things they can do to prevent it.”
The event takes place from 10 a.m-12 p.m. at Park Place Community Centre in Mount Pearl. Admission is free. Seniors and their caregivers are invited to attend. This event is sponsored by the Royal Society of Canada.
For more information, visit www.mun.ca/hkr.
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