Slips, Trips And Falls: Our Newest Data Reveals Causes Of Injury Hospitalizations and ER Visits In Canada

SLIPS, TRIPS AND FALLS:

Our Newest Data Reveals Causes Of Injury Hospitalizations And ER Visits In Canada

Julie Bortolotti, Communications Specialist, Communications Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI)

It doesn’t take much — a missed step, an out-ofplace rug or an item left on the floor can cause a nasty fall. And fall injuries send thousands of Canadians to the hospital each year. Earlier this month, we released our latest Injury and Trauma Quick Stats, which explore causes of injury-related hospitalizations and emergency room visits.

Seniors account for half of injury-related hospitalizations

Last year, seniors accounted for more than half of all injury-related hospitalizations among Canadians. Women made up almost two-thirds of seniors’ hospitalizations.

Our data shows that 4 out of 5 injury hospitalizations involving seniors were due to falls. Over the past 3 years, injury hospitalizations among seniors due to falls increased by 9%, or about 8,900 people, the largest increase among hospitalizations for seniors.

Falls prevention

Geoff Fernie, Senior Scientist and falls prevention expert at the University Health Network and the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, provides 2 practical ways for seniors to prevent falls: • Wear safe footwear indoors and outdoors to reduce slips. • Install easily graspable handrails on both sides of your stairs and outdoor steps at home — and use them.

Mr. Fernie recommends that seniors change into running shoes after arriving home — rather than walking around in socks or bare feet — to help reduce the risk of slipping. He also suggests buying new winter boots every year and following recommendations to ensure that the treads have maximum slip-resistance are not worn out.

He encourages seniors to use handrails and grab bars in public spaces and to carry a little bottle of hand hygiene gel to use afterward.

Parachute Canada also offers tips for preventing falls and other preventable injuries. Best practices include having non-slip surfaces in the tub and shower and asking for help with tasks that can’t be done safely alone.

Other causes of injury and trauma

While slips and falls were to blame for the majority of injury hospitalizations, there are many other causes. The top 5 in our data are • Falls • Vehicle collisions • Accidental poisoning • Attempted suicide and self-inflicted injury • Collided with or hit by people or objects 

2019 RTAM Distinguished Service Award Winner

The recipient of the 2019 RTAM Distinguished Service Award was announced at the AGM Reception on May 7, 2019, held at the Clarion Hotel and Suites, Brandon, Manitoba.

The Distinguished Service Award is presented to an individual whose service to RTAM has been extraordinary. In 2019, one RTAM member has been honoured. This brings the number of Distinguished Service Award recipients to 22 since the award was established in 2001. The names of the RTAM Distinguished Service Award winners are placed on a permanent plaque in the RTAM office. The 2019 RTAM Distinguished Service Award winner is Rosalie Bornn.

Rosalie Bornn retired from Dauphin-Ochre School Area, which later became Mountain View School Division, in June 2006 after thirty-five years of full-time teaching. She was the Local MTS president during Amalgamation and her leadership during that period was crucial to the development of successful teacher relations.

Throughout her working career, she was active with MTS (Manitoba Teachers’ Society): • Served on local executive. • Chaired local MTS committees. • Served, actively, on local committees. • Active committee membership on provincial

MTS standing committees.

Since retiring, she has been a strong supporter of the Dauphin Area Retired Teachers’ Association (DARTA), having served as President three times. (Two one-year terms and one two-year term).

Rosalie joined the RTAM Board in 2008 and served on many committees, as either a committee member or the Chair of the committee: • AGM and Elections (Chair) • Bylaws and Policy (Member and Chair) • Educational Advocacy and Student Awards (Member and Co-Chair) • KIT proof reader (Member) • Membership and Chapters (Member and

Chair) • Pensions (Member)

She was vice president in 2015 – 2016. She was president for two years, 2016 – 2018.

In her role as vice president and president, she was active with ACER-CART (Canadian Association of Retired Teachers) and travelled to Ottawa for their AGM for three years.

Projects that were undertaken during her tenure as President: • The joint MTS/RTAM Pension Adjustment

Account Committee to address the dispersal of the restricted surplus fund. The TRAF proposal provided that the Restricted Surplus be distributed over a five-year period which Next page →