Healthy Aging MV

HAMV Updates

Falls prevention month is here!

This September is Falls Prevention month, and we are pleased to share with you all the events we have planned. Please click here to go to our falls prevention dedicated page to start self educating and self empowering!

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Fall Greetings from hamv

Greetings,

It's hard to believe that summer is coming to an end although we continue to be blessed with many beautiful warm beach days, fewer crowds, and, unfortunately, the continuation of COVID. Many thanks again to all those front line workers who have so selflessly served us through this long, hot summer; providing vaccines, testing, medical care and keeping essential services going.

September is National Falls Prevention Month, and our Martha's Vineyard Falls Prevention Coalition, made up of over 20 organizations here on the island, are working together to raise awareness on the risk of falling as we age. In addition, we are providing educational materials on what we can do to reduce falls and ways we can empower ourselves to recover more quickly when we do fall.

Our recent HAMV survey conducted with 2,500 Islanders 60+ data revealed that more than 1 in 3 report mobility, vision or hearing impairment which increases to over 50% for those 85+. In addition almost 20% report falling within the last year, and for those 85+, 4 out of 10 have fallen. The cost of falling is astronomical - in 2015 the total costs in the US associated with falls exceeded $50 B, of which 75% was covered by Medicare and Medicaid.

You can learn more about the events and materials we have available here on our website and we encourage you to take advantage of what is being offered. Here's to many golden days to come and fewer falls for us all.

Best,

Cindy

show up for hamv

Showing up to your town meetings and advocating for HAMV projects really does make a difference! Check out your town website for the next one and go make your voice heard. Older Adults are an essential part of our community. Let's get involved!

Advance care Planning during covid

This past April 13th was National Healthcare decisions day. Our own MVTimes put out a lovely article discussing the realities and importance of advanced care planning. Now more than ever, healthcare decisions are at the forefront of people's minds. ACP can be a challenging topic, but it remains critical to our very existence. To learn more about advanced care planning, please CLICK HERE to visit HAMV's resource page. If you are interested in the article the MVTimes put out, the link is below.

MVTimes Article Link:

https://www.mvtimes.com/2021/04/13/april-16-national-healthcare-decisions-day-2/

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Home Safety Success!

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The HAMV Home Safety Modification Program has been hard at work, making the island safer for our Older-Adult residents. Currently the program is serving 15 participants! We are improving our process as we go, and expanding our network of referal agencies to better serve our residents. More exciting updates to come! If you want to learn more about the Home Safety Modification program, click on the button below.

Learn More

home safety modification psa

The HAMV Home Safety Modification Program is still going strong! Our 2020 survey let us know that Older Adults on island want to age in place. We are working hard to help you meet that goal. If you want a consultation for involvement in the Home Safety Modification Program, call your local COA.