Cover Story: Services take a stand on falls
Johnnie Weasmer has an emergency alert pendant.
By Gerald Hay
Remember the long-running catch line in the 1980s, “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up”?
Johnnie Weasmer, a 73-year-old Merriam retiree, knows that situation. A resident of the Sunflower Apartments, she recently fell on the lawn outside her building.
“I don’t know why I fell, just that I did. I wasn’t seriously hurt, just wobbly, on the ground, and needing help,” she said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, falls are the leading cause of injury and injury- related death for the aging population. About 1 in 4 older adults (age 65 and older) will fall each year in the United States. Most falls occur at home.
In 2023, Johnson County MEDACT ambulances were dispatched to 6,915 calls involving falls. Nearly 90% of the calls, totaling 6,021, involved residents 60 or older.
Weasmer had an emergency alert pendant as part of the in-home services offered by the Johnson County Department of Aging and Human Services. She wore the pendant around her neck. When she used the pendant to signal a need for help, first responders arrived within minutes.
“MED-ACT helped me get back up, then I went on about my day,” she said. “Having a way to call for help after falling was a blessing, a real blessing.”
As an AHS client, Weasmer was equipped with alert pendant, and in her situation, she had no co-pay. The county department does not provide a personal safety device or manage the emergency system, but AHS does connect eligible applicants to businesses that do.
She also was provided a toilet seat riser, and grab bars were installed in her bathroom at no cost, all to reduce the risk of falling.
Personal safety services and home repairs are available at AHS and Johnson County Housing Services, a division of the Department of Planning, Housing and Community Development. The departments serve as a tag team to support older adults living independently, offering help with minor home repairs and other tasks to preserve their safety and independence.
A free walker
Viola Yeager received a walker.
Viola Yeager, another resident of Sunflower Apartments, benefited from a 4-wheel walker to assist her mobility. The walker came from the Department of Aging and Human Services at no personal cost to her since she was a client.
“I like being independent as much and as long as possible, but I have to be very, very careful when moving and living on my own,” she said. “God has always taken good care of me.”
Yeager recently celebrated her 91st birthday.
Mary Stapleton of Prairie Village has also received a free walker, but not from Johnson County. It was a hand-me-down.
“It’s my mother’s walker. She died in 2017. At that time, I didn’t realize I would be using it,” Stapleton said. “Time has changed that.”
Lingering spinal issues, bad knees and other aging ailments have taken their toll on her. At age 65, Stapleton moves slowly, shuffling her feet and resting often. At times, she needs the walker to lessen a risk of falling in the ranch house where she has lived for the past two decades.
Johnson County’s minor home repair programs have completed projects to make her home safer by removing falling risks.
Free grab bars and handrails
New handrails were installed at no cost to the front door at Mary Stapleton's home.
Through AHS, grab bars were installed inside and outside the shower. Handrails were added to the front and rear door entrances.
“I would have broken something,” Stapleton said, adding the old rickety handrails and no grab bars in the bathroom were an accident that luckily didn’t happen.
Through Housing Services, her carpeting was removed as a potential tripping hazard. Prior to that improvement, Stapleton had fallen a few times without serious injury on the loose wall-towall carpeting that resembled the grooves on a washboard.
“It was beyond being stretched in getting the lumps out,” she said.
Housing Services also replaced her rear door for improved accessibility and weatherization.
“I could stick my finger in the gap in the door on one side and my thumb in the gap on the other side,” Stapleton said.
The home repairs were free since she was eligible and met all requirements in trying to make her ends meet as a low-income retiree. The bulk of her retirement income pays for housing and utility costs.
“These are lifesavers. That’s important at my age when living alone,” Stapleton said, “They try to keep us in our homes longer. Everything that was done has been a blessing.”
Departmental coordination
The safety enhancements required cooperation and coordination between Housing Services and the Department of Aging and Human Services.
“The partnership with Mary’s house has opened communication with Housing Services that goes both ways when we are dealing with senior issues in Johnson County. We look forward to working with them in the future,” said Carol Colnar, deputy director of Area Agency on Aging at AHS.
Heather McNeive, director of Housing Services, agreed.
“We were happy to partner with our colleagues in Aging and Human Services to maximize available grant resources and ensure this resident can stay safely in her home. Frequently, one grant-funded program can’t cover all the needs. Through collaboration, we can address the gaps and ensure healthy aging in place,” she said.
Minor home repairs by Housing Services can also include installing wheelchair access ramps and replacing steps for home accessibility.
AHS has shower benches available for eligible clients needing them.
Stapleton encourages other aging adults to check out the programs for possible eligibility to reduce in-home hazards that can cause a fall.
“You have to verbalize,” she said. “You need to ask and see if you can get some help.”
Aside from home repairs, Aging and Human Services also provided Stapleton a companion pet. It’s a robotic, interactive pet with soft fur with animatronic movements and sounds of a real cat to share time, as needed, in living alone to help avoid social isolation.
“That’s Kikipoo,” Stapleton said with a smile. “It’s a perfect pet for me. I don’t have to worry about any special care, vet bills or feeding. She purrs and meows, likes petting and hugging, and there’s no litter box to change.”
Falls take a sad annual toll. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:
- • Each year, about 3 million older adults are treated in emergency departments for a fall injury.
- • One out of every 5 falls causes an injury, such as broken bones or a head injury.
- • Falls also are the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries.
- • Each year at least 300,000 older people are hospitalized for hip fractures.
- • More than 95% of hip fractures are caused by falling – usually by falling sideways.
- • Women fall more often than men and account for three-quarters of all hip fractures.
Eligibility for services requires applying for them
Eligibility generally is the same in applying for aging services or minor home repairs at Johnson County Housing Services and/or at the Johnson County Department of Aging and Human Services.
The programs require completion and submission of an application.
Income limits are based on median annual income guidelines published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development: $57,750 for one-person households and $66,000 for two-person households. The guidelines are changed annually.
AHS services primarily target older adults, people with disabilities, low-income families and other residents who require assistance.
Applicants for Housing Services must be a Johnson County resident, must own and occupy the residence as their primary residence and be current on the payment of property taxes. Also, the home cannot be for sale. It requires a property inspection, assessment of eligible repairs and contractor availability.
Housing Services does not make emergency home repairs. Home rehabilitation projects, such as window, water heater and furnace replacement, are also provided, if needed and approved.
A homeowner’s eligibility also varies on where an applicant resides. The county program does not serve residents in Olathe or Lenexa. Both cities have housing rehabilitation/repair services for their eligible applicants/residents. More information on Johnson County Housing Services is available by calling 913-715-6612 or visiting jocogov.org/housing.
More information on AHS services is available by calling 913-715-8861 or emailing AHS-AgingInfo@jocogov.org.