Nevada ranks 18th in U.S. in slip-and-fall accidents

Valerie Miller

Wednesday, May 3, 2000 | 11:13 a.m.

Safety

Some home safety tips from AARP:

Apply double-sided carpet tape to rugs that can slip.

Make sure electrical and extension cords are not in walking paths.

Turn on lights when walking through dark areas and use night lights, especially in the bathroom.

Don't leave objects on stairs or place rugs on the top or bottom of stairways and use good lighting, at least 60 watt bulbs, in stairways.

Use sturdy step stools with handles.

Use rubber mats or strips in bathtubs or showers.

Some minor changes to older Nevadans' homes can prevent major injuries and medical bills from slip-and-fall accidents.

The findings were included in a national report released locally Tuesday. The study was commissioned by the American Association of Retired People in an effort to educate older people on how to prevent life-threatening falls in their homes.

The study, which broke down slip-and-fall accidents and their medical costs on a state-by-state basis, ranked Nevada 18th in the number of slip-and-fall accidents.

More than 10,000 Nevadans over the age of 65 will be injured from slip-and-fall accidents this year, the report predicts.

"When an older person falls, they may break a hip, twist an ankle, fracture an arm or seriously injure their back," AARP State President Wallace Kurtz said.

While the public may think of slip-and-fall accidents as things people can eventually recover from, the physical and financial effects can be long-reaching, Nevada AARP Director Carla Sloan said.

"A fall can certainly lead to other health problems that shorten an older person's life," she said.

The report also concluded that health care costs for Nevadans over 65 who are injured from slip-and-fall accidents will total more than $109 million this year.

Most slip-and-fall accidents occur at home, the report reveals, and AARP officials said it's a case where an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

"Simple home improvements can save a lot of health care dollars and allow people to continue to live in their own homes," Kurtz said.

For one woman, recovering stroke victim Eleyna Dyane Kestenbaum, the tips have already made her home safer.

"AARP brought me rubber bathtub mats, installed night lights and extension cords to connect all my lights together," Kesterbaum said. "Now I can turn off all my lights with one flick of the switch, and I don't have to fumble and back into the walls in my wheelchair at night."

Kesterbaum said she has passed along the safety tips to her friends via the Internet. Getting the word out is what AARP is trying to accomplish, Sloan said.

"People should pass along these tips to friends, relatives and neighbors," Sloan said. "These are very simple things people can do to help themselves."

Valerie Miller is a reporter for the Sun. She can be reached at (702) 259-2319 or by e-mail at valerie@lasvegassun.com