Letter to the Editor: Preventing Falls in NY Starts with the SAFE Act

When most people think about preventive care, they typically think of an annual checkup or a screening test – not a visit to a physical therapist. But for older adults, physical therapists play a critical role in helping to avoid one of the most common and costly health threats they face: falls.

Falls affect 25 percent of older New Yorkers, leading to broken bones, hospitalizations, loss of independence, and even life-threatening complications. As our population ages, the risk of falls continues to rise, making prevention one of the most powerful tools for protecting the health and well-being of older adults, but only if they can access it.

Physical therapists are uniquely trained to assess an individual’s balance, strength, mobility, and overall fall risk, identifying warning signs and helping implement interventions before a serious injury occurs. Yet Medicare does not currently provide beneficiaries with access to a fall-risk assessment by physical therapists – the falls prevention experts.

Congress must do its part to change this by enacting practical, cost-effective solutions like the bipartisan Stopping Addiction and Falls for the Elderly (SAFE) Act (S. 2612/H.R. 1171), which would include falls risk assessments by physical and occupational therapists as part of a patient’s Medicare annual wellness visit—at no additional cost to the beneficiary or to taxpayers—to help prevent falls before they happen.

At ACCESS Physical Therapy in Goshen, my colleagues and I recently welcomed staff from the office of Representative Pat Ryan to discuss the importance of expanding access to falls-prevention services. Our message was simple: preventing falls is far less costly and more effective than treating their consequences. I urge Rep. Ryan to give older Americans access to the high-quality preventive care they need to stay steady on their feet by co-sponsoring the SAFE Act.

Shannon Albanese, PT
President/Co-Founder, ACCESS PT
Campbell Hall