 While falls are the leading cause of fatal and non-fatal injuries for older Americans, Sarah Winkelman stopped by a fall assessment today to see how Crowing County is taking action to prevent falls. We want to make sure that she's a safe walker in the community. The goal of safety and independence is key at today's fall assessments in Crowing County. Sit, stand, walk 10 feet and walk back and based on those assessment results and how long that took, we will tell them they're a variable risk for falling. During the stand-up and be strong exercise, participants are asked to cross their arms, sit down and stand up as many times as they can within 30 seconds. Those who only get up and down eight times or fewer can be considered high-risk. One, two. Falls are not a normal part of aging, even though we see that one in three adults over the age of 65 will experience a fall in this year. For many of the participants at today's assessment, the reality of falling is extremely real. I'm worried about falling. I fell a couple of weeks ago and I hurt my ribs, maybe a broken rib and I don't want to do that again because it really hurts. Some tips including increased lighting, adding stair rails and removing throw rugs can all help reduce the risk of falling. When you do fall, talking to your physician is the most important thing to do because it can be anything related to your strength to possibly medications that you're on and all of that needs to be assessed to keep you safe and independent and in your own home as long as possible. Something that many participants are thankful for. Oh yeah, this is just made for me. Any citizen age 65 or older is encouraged to come to one of the upcoming assessments or balanced classes. I like the dedication that these facilitators have. It's all volunteer and it truly is something where we keep that prevention thing going for the community we serve. With community members that will remain safe, active and independent. Reporting in Cross Lake, Sarah Winkelman, Lakeland News. The times and locations of the upcoming fall assessments and balance classes can be found on our website lptv.org. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.