Welcome to AgeSafe Assist! I am Susy Stark, an occupational therapist. My research focuses on helping older adults age safely in place at home. I became interested in fall prevention years ago when one of my community partners asked me to give a talk about the topic. She knew that as an occupational therapist, I provided home modifications - one of the leading fall prevention strategies. At the time, I knew very little about the serious impacts of falls on older adults.
In preparing for the talk, I was stunned to discover the horrible toll a fall can take. I learned falls were the leading cause of injury death, traumatic brain injury, custodial nursing home placement, and paralyzing fear of falling. The numbers were also staggering - one of every three older adults age 65+ falls each year. I realized that preventing falls was one of the most important things I could do as an OT to help my clients age in place successfully.
This began my journey to bring evidence to the practice of fall prevention. My research team has developed an intervention called the Home Hazard Removal Program or HARP. HARP is a manualized intervention that uses home modifications and strategy training to reduce fall risk in the home. It has demonstrated a 38% reduction in falls for older adults at high risk of a fall.
We were thrilled when it was recognized by the National Center of Aging to be an evidenced-based practice, eligible for funding by Area Agencies on Aging.
However, we faced barriers getting HARP implemented due to a lack of reimbursement models and networks for delivering preventative, home-based care.
We wanted to eliminate the barriers that OTs face when trying to deliver home modification interventions like HARP. This led us to create AgeSafe Assist - a comprehensive platform to train OTs in HARP, match them with clients who need it, provide billing support, contractor connections, and equipment access. This website launches our HARP training, with more services rolling out this year.
Join AgeSafe Assist today as a HARP certified provider. Together, we can bring this fall prevention program to older adults in communities across the nation.
In preparing for the talk, I was stunned to discover the horrible toll a fall can take. I learned falls were the leading cause of injury death, traumatic brain injury, custodial nursing home placement, and paralyzing fear of falling. The numbers were also staggering - one of every three older adults age 65+ falls each year. I realized that preventing falls was one of the most important things I could do as an OT to help my clients age in place successfully.
This began my journey to bring evidence to the practice of fall prevention. My research team has developed an intervention called the Home Hazard Removal Program or HARP. HARP is a manualized intervention that uses home modifications and strategy training to reduce fall risk in the home. It has demonstrated a 38% reduction in falls for older adults at high risk of a fall.
We were thrilled when it was recognized by the National Center of Aging to be an evidenced-based practice, eligible for funding by Area Agencies on Aging.
However, we faced barriers getting HARP implemented due to a lack of reimbursement models and networks for delivering preventative, home-based care.
We wanted to eliminate the barriers that OTs face when trying to deliver home modification interventions like HARP. This led us to create AgeSafe Assist - a comprehensive platform to train OTs in HARP, match them with clients who need it, provide billing support, contractor connections, and equipment access. This website launches our HARP training, with more services rolling out this year.
Join AgeSafe Assist today as a HARP certified provider. Together, we can bring this fall prevention program to older adults in communities across the nation.
Stay tuned for more blog posts exploring HARP, sharing success stories, and recommending essential home modification products! We'll also keep you updated on the rollout of our practice management services.
Our mission is to empower OTs with essential resources, enabling them to effectively implement fall prevention strategies within their communities.
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