The Program | Goals | Eligibility | The Facts | Referrals & Payment | Service Area
The Safe Steps at Home program assists physicians in identifying patients at risk and teaches these patients interventions to reduce their fall risk.
The Program
Program Description:
The comprehensive evaluation assesses the following:
- objective balance tests with normative data - Berg Balance, Traditional Manual & Cognitive, Timed Up and Go, functional reach, modified Clinical Test of Sensory Integration and Balance, and Modified Falls Efficacy Scale
- posture
- functional limitations
- pain, strength, and range of motion
- neurologic assessment of sensation, proprioception, kinesthesia and the vestibular system
- home safety assessment
- medication reconciliation
Treatment Approach:
- balance, gait, and transfer training
- exercise progression to restore function, strength, and range of motion
- progressive task and functionally based home exercise program
- education on home environment to improve safe function/mobility in home
- integration of sensory systems to improve dynamic balance
The clinician will apprise the physician of the patient evaluation findings, including a normative data comparison, and will provide recommendations for a plan of care.
Back to Top
Goals
Hartford HealthCare at Home professionals help you reduce your risk for falls by addressing your problem areas.
During your first visit, your therapists will conduct a complete evaluation that will assess your:
- Posture
- Strength
- Sensation
- Walking
- Balance
- Daily activities of living
Your therapists work with you and your physician to develop a customized plan of care that will fit your needs and lifestyle:
- Exercise
- Gait training
- Home exercise program
- Vestibular training
- Home environment education
- Education on fall prevention
Back to Top
Eligibility
You may be at risk for falling...
- Are you over 65 years of age?
- Do you have osteoporosis?
- Do you have visual impairments?
- Do you use an assistive device?
- Do you have muscle weakness?
- Do you have frequent loss of balance?
- Have you had a previous fall?
- Do you have difficulty walking?
- Do you use four or more medications per day?
- Do you have complaints of dizziness?
- Do you have foot problems such as pain or deformities?
- Do you need to look at the floor to know where your feet are when walking?
- Do you have difficulty getting out of a chair?
- Are you unable to get up from the floor or toilet?
- Are you able to stand on one leg for at least five seconds?
Back to Top
The Facts
Balance and Fall Prevention: Did you know that...
- Falls are not a normal sign of aging and are a major risk factor as people age.
- Every day, every 29 minutes an older person dies from a fall.
- Falls and related injuries are the most frequent preventable cause of nursing home placement.
- Falls are a major risk factor in the aging population.
- Falls cause over 90% of broken hips in the older population.
- More than 30% of community living residents over 65 years of age fall each year, and of those, half will fall more than once.
Reference: Connecticut Collaboration for Fall Prevention
Back to Top
Referrals & Payment
Referral and Payment Information:
- Medicare patients will have 100% coverage if meeting homebound requirements.
- Some insurers require pre-authorization.
- In referral please include all disciplines that may benefit patient (PT, OT and/or RN) and why they should be seen (i.e. gait assessment, medication reconciliation, improved dynamic balance, etc.)
A patient with any of the following symptoms is a candidate for Safe Steps:
- a previous fall
- impaired gait and/or difficulty in transferring or getting up
- use of four or more medications per day
- postural hypotension
- footwear or foot problems including pain or deformities
- impaired lower extremity sensory impairments
- inability to stand on one leg for five seconds
Back to Top
Service Area