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CHW 103: Health Across the Lifespan
103.12 Adults and Seniors
Aging well, falls, memory, vaccines, Medicare and staying connected
Your materials
Slides (PowerPoint) Handout (Word)
For instructors
Facilitator guide Printable pre and post tests Quiz (LMS import)
What you will learn
- Describe normal aging and the warning signs of dementia
- Teach fall prevention steps for older adults and their homes
- Name recommended vaccines and screening conversations for older adults
- Connect older adults to Medicare help, the Area Agency on Aging and social connection
Start here
Who is the oldest person you know? What keeps them going, and what do they worry about?
Lesson
Normal aging or a warning sign
Often part of normal aging
- Sometimes forgetting a name, then remembering later
- Taking longer to learn new things
- Occasionally misplacing glasses and retracing steps to find them
- Sometimes having trouble finding the right word
Warning signs to report
- Memory loss that disrupts daily life
- Trouble paying bills or following a recipe
- Getting lost in a familiar place
- Misplacing things and unable to retrace steps
- Changes in mood, personality or judgment
Falls are serious and preventable
- 1 in 4 older adults fall each year
- 43,000+ deaths from falls among adults 65 and older in 2024
- 4.5M emergency visits for older adult falls in 2024
Source: CDC Older Adult Fall Prevention and STEADI
Fall prevention: what we can help with
- Tell the provider: Encourage talking to the doctor about any fall, unsteadiness or fear of falling.
- Review medicines: Ask the doctor or pharmacist to review all medicines for dizziness or sleepiness.
- Check eyes and feet: Yearly eye exams, updated glasses, and well-fitting shoes.
- Build strength and balance: Classes like Tai Chi help. Ask the provider what is safe.
- Make the home safer: Clear clutter and throw rugs, add grab bars, stair rails and brighter lights.
Vaccines to ask the provider about
| Vaccine | Who it is for (CDC) |
|---|---|
| Flu | Every adult, every year |
| Shingles | Two doses for adults 50 and older |
| Pneumococcal | Adults 50 and older without prior conjugate vaccine |
| RSV | One dose at 75+, or 60 to 74 at higher risk |
| Td or Tdap | Tdap once, then a booster every 10 years |
Medicare and aging services basics
- Medicare: Federal health insurance for people 65 and older and some younger people with disabilities.
- The parts: Part A hospital, Part B doctor visits, Part C Medicare Advantage plans, Part D prescription drugs.
- Area Agency on Aging: Local agencies that link older adults and caregivers to home help, meals and benefits counseling.
- Eldercare Locator: A national service at 1-800-677-1116 to find local aging help and report concerns.
Upstream: an older man alone
- What we see: Mr. Henderson, 78, in Glenville skips meals, missed two doctor visits and says he has not talked to anyone in a week.
- Why it happens (upstream): His wife died, his children moved away, the bus stop is far, and his neighborhood lost its grocery store and senior center hours.
- What we can build on (assets): His church, a neighbor on the porch, senior meal programs, the Area Agency on Aging, senior transportation, and his love of checkers.
Situation: the fall she did not report
Situation: On a home visit in Slavic Village, Mrs. Kowalski, 81, has a bruise on her arm. She admits she fell in the bathroom last week but asks you not to tell her daughter or doctor because she does not want to move to a nursing home.
What do you say and do?
- Listen to her fear and respect her wish to stay home
- Explain that telling her doctor can help her stay independent
- Walk through the home safety checklist together
- Document and talk with your supervisor about next steps
Talk it over
- What do older adults in your family or church teach you about aging well?
- What makes it hard for seniors in our neighborhoods to get around?
- How can we honor elders' independence while keeping them safe?
Study sheet
The big idea: Older adults are community assets; we help them stay safe, connected and independent by preventing falls and linking them to care.
Key points
- Some memory change is normal with age; memory loss that disrupts daily life is not and needs a provider visit.
- About 1 in 4 older adults fall each year, and falls are the leading cause of injury death after 65.
- Fall prevention: tell the provider, review medicines, check eyes and feet, build balance, make the home safer.
- Encourage older adults to ask their provider about flu, shingles, pneumococcal, RSV and Td or Tdap vaccines.
- Medicare covers people 65 and older and some younger people with disabilities; refer to free counseling for plan choices.
- Loneliness and isolation are health risks. Connection is part of care.
Remember
- Falls: 1 in 4 older adults each year
- Shingles vaccine: adults 50 and older, two doses
- RSV vaccine: 75 and older, or 60 to 74 at higher risk
- Eldercare Locator: 1-800-677-1116
- Medicare parts: A hospital, B doctor, C Advantage, D drugs
Ask yourself
- How do I respond when an elder wants to hide a problem to stay independent?
- Which elders in my life could use a check-in this week?
Vocabulary
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Dementia | A loss of memory and thinking skills serious enough to disrupt daily life. Alzheimer's disease is the most common type. |
| Alzheimer's disease | A brain disease that slowly damages memory and thinking; it is not a normal part of aging. |
| Fall risk | How likely a person is to fall, based on balance, medicines, vision, home and health. |
| STEADI | A CDC program with tools to prevent falls in older adults. |
| Tai Chi | A gentle exercise of slow movements that improves balance and strength. |
| Medicare | Federal health insurance for people 65 and older and some younger people with disabilities. |
| Medicare Advantage | Medicare Part C plans run by private companies that combine hospital and doctor coverage. |
| Area Agency on Aging | A local agency that connects older adults and caregivers to services like meals and home help. |
| Social isolation | Having few relationships or little contact with others. |
| Loneliness | The painful feeling of being alone or disconnected, even when others are around. |
Real-life situations
Forgetting the stove
Mr. Washington's daughter in Cleveland Heights tells you her father, 74, left the stove on twice this month and got lost driving home from church.
What to do
- Listen and acknowledge how worried she is
- Explain these can be warning signs that need a provider visit, without naming a diagnosis
- Help her write down what she has seen to bring to his doctor
- Connect the family to the Area Agency on Aging and caregiver support
Why: Getting lost and safety lapses go beyond normal aging. Only a provider can find the cause, and some causes are treatable.
Too many pill bottles
Ms. Gaines, 80, in Fairfax keeps her many pill bottles in a shoebox and says some make her dizzy when she stands up.
What to do
- Do not tell her to stop or change any medicine
- Help her make a list of all her medicines, including over-the-counter ones
- Help her schedule a medicine review with her pharmacist or doctor
- Walk through fall safety at home and tell your supervisor
Why: Dizziness from medicines raises fall risk. A medicine review by the pharmacist or doctor is the safe path.
Turning 65
Mr. Ortiz in Lorain turns 65 next spring. He is confused by Medicare ads on TV and asks which plan you think he should choose.
What to do
- Explain the basic Medicare parts in plain words
- Do not recommend a specific plan or company
- Connect him to free, unbiased Medicare counseling through OSHIIP, Ohio's Medicare help program
- Tell him his sign-up window opens 3 months before his birthday month
Why: Plan choices depend on his doctors, medicines and budget. Trained Medicare counselors give unbiased help.
Activity: Home safety walk-through
About 20 minutes.
- Download the CDC STEADI Check for Safety home checklist.
- Use it to walk through your own home or the home of an older relative, with permission.
- List three hazards you found and how each could be fixed at low or no cost.
- Write one sentence on how you would bring this up respectfully with an older client.
Post-test
Ten questions. You need 75% to pass, with one retake. Your result is saved in this browser.
Sources
- CDC, Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer's (10 warning signs)
- CDC, About Alzheimer's Disease
- CDC, Older Adult Fall Prevention
- CDC, Preventing Falls
- CDC STEADI, Patient and Caregiver Resources
- CDC Still Going Strong, Older Adults
- CDC, Vaccines by Age
- CDC, Health Effects of Social Isolation and Loneliness
- CDC, About Abuse of Older Persons (Eldercare Locator)
- CDC Still Going Strong, Information for Caregivers
- Ohio Department of Insurance, OSHIIP Medicare 101 presentation (2023)
- Medicare.gov, When does Medicare coverage start?
- City of Cleveland, Department of Aging Community Partners (Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging)
- CMS, About the Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office
- Alzheimer's Association, 10 Early Signs and Symptoms of Alzheimer's
- National Institute on Aging, Forgetfulness: Knowing When to Ask for Help (2020)