Falls Cause Most Injury-Related Deaths in WI

Falls top suicides and automobile crashes as the leading cause of injury related death in Wisconsin—particularly among the elderly—and generate nearly $800 million in hospital costs each year in Wisconsin, according to a state-sponsored report.

The Burden of Falls in Wisconsin report examined statewide data from 2008 and found:

•  87% of fall-related deaths, and 70% of falls requiring inpatient hospitalization involve people aged 65 or older.
• About 70% of the costs for fall-related hospitalizations and emergency department visits are paid by Medicare and Medicaid.
• Of the $798 million in hospital charges stemming on falls in 2008, emergency department visits accounted for $160 million, and inpatient hospitalizations accounted for $638 million.

• 55.2% of falls resulting in death occur in the home, and that 40% of those admitted to a nursing home had a fall in the month before admission.

"The first step in the prevention of falls is to understand the problem, which is in part achieved through surveillance efforts such as this document," says Wisconsin Secretary of Health Services Karen E. Timberlake, in a letter introducing the 32-page study. "This report shows the extent of the problem that falling creates for our citizens, both through loss of independence and costs to the healthcare system."

Timberlake says her agency is providing copies of the report to state legislators and healthcare policy makers to raise awareness of the problem and help them devise programs to reduce falls.

The study attributes 918 deaths in Wisconsin in 2008 to falls. Wisconsin's Top 5 causes for injury-related deaths in 2008 were the following:

1. Suicides: 737 lives
2. Automobile crashes: 581 lives
3. Poisonings: 481 lives
4. Homicides: 151 lives

Even though most falls occur in the home, 51.5% of the deaths occur in a hospital. Most who suffer a severe fall receive some treatment before dying. For example, of those who were hospitalized for a fall in 2008 and died in the hospital, the average length of stay was 6.5 days, resulting in more than $26 million in charges.

For ages 65 years and older, 25% of deaths occurred in a nursing home, and 15% of deaths occurred in a facility based hospice. As the population ages, the study found that a larger share of falls occur in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, the study found.

The report does not account for time between fall and death, and does not indicate whether the individual who died was transferred between facilities before death.

See Also:
Success With a Fall Reduction Strategy
Coaching Project Helps Facilities Prepare for Patient Falls
Falls Could Signal Serious Health Issues