LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – After reports of falls experienced by such well-known figures as Zsa Zsa Gabor, Dodgers baseball broadcaster Vin Scully, Robert Culp of the “I Spy” series and Yogi Berra, we are reminded that falls remain a very real and serious issue.

With the third annual Fall Prevention Awareness Week comes the message that falls are preventable.

Fall Prevention Awareness Week – Sept. 19-25 – will see California’s fall prevention coalitions and health and senior service agencies uniting to hold presentations, health fairs, walks, and physical activity demonstrations to raise awareness among older persons and their families about the seriousness of falls and ways to reduce fall risk.

California’s Fall Prevention Awareness Week was established in 2008 via Senate Concurrent Resolution 77, authored by Sen. Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach).

At the heart of this initiative is the message that falls are preventable.

Experts recommend:

• A physical activity regimen with balance, strength training and flexibility components;

• A fall risk assessment by a health professional; and

• Making sure the home environment is safe and supportive.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an older adult is treated in a hospital emergency room for a fall every 18 seconds, and every 35 minutes an older adult dies as a result of a fall-related injury.

In fact, among older adults falls are the leading cause of injury deaths. They are also the most common cause of unintentional nonfatal injuries and hospital admissions for trauma.

In California alone, 1.3 million older adults experience an injury due to falling each year.

All of us play a role in reducing falls. Speak with your doctor about possible fall risks, bring your medications to your pharmacist to review, stop by a local senior center to see what services they offer, and visit the Fall Prevention Center of Excellence Web site, www.stopfalls.org, for more information on how you can reduce falls.