Stony Brook Medicine Awarded Grant to Expand Adult Falls Prevention Programs

Stony Brook Medicine (SBM) has been awarded $546,737 through the Administration for Community Living’s (ACL) 2022 Empowering Communities to Deliver and Sustain Evidence-Based Falls Prevention Programs grant program. The three-year grant will allow SBM to take an expanded role in the capacity and sustainability of older adult falls prevention programs across Long Island, while enhancing statewide efforts and informing best practices. Stony Brook, which operates Suffolk County’s only Level 1 Trauma Center, is one of only 7 grantees in the U.S. that received funding through the program this year.

“This grant positions Stony Brook Medicine as a regional leader to increase access to falls prevention education in our community,” said Kristi L. Ladowski, injury prevention and outreach coordinator at the Trauma Center at Stony Brook University Hospital. “We are excited to launch the Long Island Falls Prevention Resource Center at Stony Brook, which will allow us to expand resources and reach underserved communities in our area while supporting current falls-prevention efforts across New York State.”

“This grant demonstrates the collaborative efforts of many Stony Brook Medicine teams,” added Sarah Cohen, administrator for the Center for Parkinson’s Disease at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. “Together, we look forward to rolling out evidence-based programming across Long Island. Specifically, at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, we will be working to spearhead a screening and referral program which can be modeled to support other healthcare systems in identifying and supporting those individuals most at risk for falls.”

This new grant will help Stony Brook:

1. Establish the Long Island Regional Falls Prevention Resource Center at SBM aimed at streamlining data collection across New York State and serving as a resource hub on best practices.
2. Improve quality of life and decrease preventable falls in older adults on Long Island and throughout New York State.
3. Coordinate with community partner organizations to educate older adults through remote and in-person adult fall prevention programs.
4. Establish screening and referral processes to bridge the gap between clinical care providers and patient referrals to community-based, falls prevention programs. 
5. Advance equity of program delivery, with a special focus on inclusivity of individuals living with Parkinson’s disease and bilingual/bicultural older adults.

In New York State, falls remain the number one cause of injury-related death and hospitalization for older adults, with rates continuing to rise. More than half of these hospital admissions result in discharge to a nursing home or rehabilitation center. By identifying older adults at risk for falls — bridging the gap between healthcare provider and falls-prevention programming, increasing the capacity of evidence-based falls prevention programs (EBP), and collaborating with community partners supporting underserved communities — this grant will help Stony Brook reduce modifiable risk factors, thereby resulting in improved quality of life for older adults and adults with disabilities, and a reduction in falls-related healthcare costs.

For more information about current programming offered through Stony Brook, visit trauma.stonybrookmedicine.edu/injury-prevention/falls.