In a study of the year 2008, the CDC recently estimated that every year about 234,000 people ages 15 and up are treated in the US for injuries that occur in bathrooms.

Four out of five of these injuries are caused by falls, which can have especially serious consequences for older adults. One in three adults aged 65 and up falls every year. Thirty percent of adults aged 65 and up who are injured in the bathroom are diagnosed with fractures; and among adults over age 85, thirty-eight percent have to be hospitalized as a result of their injuries.

The issue is even more staggering when you consider the average cost of a fall. In 2000, the total direct medical cost for hospitalizations from a fall injury was about $17,500.

Hip fractures, however, were the most common type of fall-related fracture and averaged $18,000 for hospital care, which does not include the aftercare that is often required. Add the fact that medical costs have risen since these last estimates, and the total cost of a fall-related injury may exceed $20,000. [Read more…]

Originally posted on September 10, 2013 @ 12:38 pm