Pinellas Park firefighters are offering residents a fun way to learn how to prevent falls in older adults.

PINELLAS PARK – The Pinellas Park Fire Department is presenting a free theater play on fall prevention called Denying Gravity to help residents in taking a stand against falls in older adults.

The play is at 2 p.m. Sunday (Feb. 25) at the Pinellas Park Performing Arts Center, 4951 78th Ave., Pinellas Park. It is free.

In 2017, Pinellas County Fire/EMS units responded to 26,492 calls for falls and Pinellas Park firefighters units responded to 1,759 of them. Falls are the leading cause of death caused by injury in older adults. Those who have experienced a fall are two to three times more likely to fall again.

Pinellas Park partnered with SAGES (Senior Actors Guild & Education Services) to present a free entertaining, exciting, yet educational theater experience filled with comedy and drama that people can relate to and also to help provide knowledge on preventing falls.

Fall prevention education tables will also be available for viewing before and after the play to share some great tips on fall prevention safety.

Fall Statistics You Need to Know

About one third of the population older than 65 falls each year, and the risk of falls increases proportionately with age. At 80 years, more than half of seniors fall annually. Those who experience a fall are two to three times more likely to fall again.

Falls account for about 25 percent of all hospital admissions and about 40 percent of all nursing home admissions. Forty percent of those admitted do not return to independent living and 25 percent die within a year.

Many falls do not result in injuries, yet a large percentage (47 percent) of non-injured fallers cannot get up without assistance.

For the elderly who fall and are unable to get up on their own, the time spent immobile often affects their health outcome. Muscle cell breakdown starts to occur within 30-60 minutes of compression due to falling. Dehydration, pressure sores, hypothermia, and pneumonia are other complications that may result.

Getting help after an immobilizing fall improves the chance of survival by 80 percent and increases the likelihood of a return to independent living.

For information about Denying Gravity, go to facebook.com.

Pinellas Park Fire | Firefighters | Falls | Denying Gravity | Events | Events Near Me | Tampabay News

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