June 2018 –  Falls are the number one cause of death from injury in patients over 65.

A simple fall risk screen for elders developed by the CDC includes the following three questions:

1. Have you fallen in the past year?
2. Do you feel unsteady when standing or walking?
3. Do you worry about falling?

If your patient answers yes to any of these, review medications and consider stopping any risky meds.  Consider tapering BP meds to treat standing hypertension only.

Patients with advanced dementia and a new hip fracture are typically eligible for hospice care.

For more information contact Dr. Leslie Estep or Dr. Anita Meyer at Hospice of the Northwest,
360-814-5550, or lestep@hospicenw.org  or ameyer@hospicenw.org.