Medical and eldercare policy groups are putting pressure on Congress to fund falls prevention programs. Twenty-two groups, including the National Association for Home Care & Hospice, are calling on Congress to spend $20 million on falls prevention under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

About ‘1.8 million older adults were treated in emergency departments for injuries from falls, 433,000 were hospitalized and nearly 16,000 died,’ the coalition says in a release. ‘CDC reports the mortality rate from falls among older Americans has increased 39 percent between 1999 and 2005.’

According to the CDC, more than $19 billion annually is spent on treating the elderly for the adverse effects of falls, the coalition says.