Preventing falls in older adults requires a connected approach that combines community-based exercise and education programs, clinical screening for fall risk, and connected health technology including fall detection devices and remote monitoring. No single intervention is enough. The strongest outcomes come from coordinated effort across all three.
Why Fall Prevention Is a National Priority
On Wednesday, May 20, 2026, the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging convened a hearing titled Preventing Falls, Preserving Independence: Technology, Community Programs, and Innovation in Senior Safety (hearing details here). For everyone working in connected health, aging services, and senior care, the title alone matters. It signals what we have long believed: protecting older adults from falls is not a single-product problem. It is a system challenge, and the most meaningful progress happens when community programs, clinical care, and connected technology work together.
Falls are the leading cause of injury and injury-related death for adults age 65 and older. According to the CDC, more than 14 million older adults, roughly one in four, fall every year. The National Safety Council reports that older adult fall-related deaths reached 43,020 in 2024, and the age-adjusted fall death rate has climbed 21 percent since 2018. Behind those numbers are about three million emergency department visits, one million hospitalizations, and nearly 319,000 hip fracture admissions each year, most caused by falls.
These are not just clinical statistics. They are quiet tipping points in people’s lives. A single fall can shift an older adult from independent living to a higher level of care, from confident mobility to fear of moving, from at-home recovery to long-term decline. Caregivers feel the weight of those moments most.
A Three-Part Solution: Community, Technology, and Clinical Care
The witness list at the hearing reflected exactly where progress is happening:
- Christine Didion, Director of Programs at the Area Agency on Aging Pasco-Pinellas in Florida, spoke to the role of local aging-services infrastructure.
- Laura Mitchell, Co-Founder and CEO of GrandCare Systems, spoke from the technology innovation lens.
- Martha Petteys, Director of Grant Management and Health Strategies for the Alliance of New York State YMCAs, shared what evidence-based community programs look like in practice across her state.
Together, they represented the three pillars of effective fall prevention:
- Community programs that build strength, balance, and social connection.
- Clinical screening and intervention that identifies risk before it becomes an injury.
- Connected technology that supports older adults at home and keeps families and providers close.
No single layer is enough. The strongest outcomes come from all three working in concert.
Where Connected Health Fits
This is the layer Connect America was built for.
For decades, Lifeline, now part of Connect America, has helped older adults summon help with the press of a button. That foundation remains essential. But Connect America’s fall prevention capabilities in 2026 go further. It includes:
- Automatic fall detection wearables that respond even when an older adult cannot reach a help button (see PERS solutions).
- Predictive analytics through CareSage, which interprets real-time signals to flag rising risk before a serious incident occurs.
- Remote patient monitoring delivered to healthcare providers through 100Plus, helping clinicians track blood pressure, weight, and other vitals that quietly influence fall risk over time.
- Care coordination anchored by our U.S.-based Response Center, connecting the older adult, the family caregiver, and the clinical team to a shared picture of safety and health.
- CareCompass™ nurse access, which connects older adults and caregivers to a registered nurse around the clock for everyday health questions and emerging concerns, helping prevent small issues from becoming serious ones before they reach a care team.
The shift is from reactive response to proactive prevention. From getting help after a fall to creating the conditions where fewer falls happen in the first place.
What This Hearing Signals
The Senate Special Committee on Aging is not just spotlighting a problem. It is recognizing a model. Effective senior safety is no longer a single device or a single program. It is a connected network of community organizations, clinicians, technology partners, and caregivers, sharing information and acting on it.
That is the future Connect America is building. We support the community organizations doing essential ground-level work. We partner with healthcare providers and payers integrating remote monitoring into chronic care. And we serve millions of older adults and their families through Lifeline every day.
We watched the hearing on May 20 with appreciation for the leaders representing AAAPP, GrandCare Systems, and the New York State YMCAs, and with renewed commitment to the work ahead.
Moving Forward
If you are a caregiver looking to better protect a loved one at home, Lifeline offers practical guidance and trusted technology at Lifeline.com.
If you are a healthcare provider, health system, or aging-services partner exploring connected health and remote monitoring, Connect America would welcome the conversation.
Falls are common. They do not have to be inevitable. With community, clinical care, and connected technology working together, more older adults can keep what they value most: their independence.