Hhs Launches $27.8m Initiative To Reduce Older Adult Falls

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has named recipients of a $27.8 million fund designed to reduce falls among older adults, including nonprofit organizations that provide or support home care services.

The fund includes three fall prevention programs totaling $27.8 million over three years. The money is earmarked to expand proven programs, strengthen relationships between healthcare providers and community organizations, and help states and local organizations prevent falls in older adults.

The named recipients include two providers that directly provide or support care in the home: Central Maine Area Agency on Aging, which offers adult day services and personal support through its Bridges program, plus meals and caregiver support, and Partners In Care Foundation, which provides care management, in-home assessments, care-transition support and community-based health programs.

The other award recipients are:

— Health Research, Inc.

— Maryland Department of Health

— CHPcommunity, Inc. dba Iowa Community HUB

— AgeOptions, Inc.

— Texas A&M University

— Partners In Care Foundation

— Central Maine Area Agency on Aging

— The Oasis Institute

Each recipient will receive $1,940,162, subject to fund availability, according to HHS.

“A fall can change an older American’s life in an instant, and we can prevent many of these injuries,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said in a statement. “These investments will reduce injuries and healthcare costs while helping more Americans remain safely in their homes and communities.”

The awards will expand two programs: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths & Injuries (STEADI) program, which aims to help healthcare providers screen for, assess and address fall risk, and Stepping On, a community falls prevention program that helps older adults improve strength and balance and address fall-related risks.

Home-based care providers have rolled out training programs and technology models specifically aimed at preventing falls and reducing hospitalizations.

For example, Bayada Home Health Care launched the Enhanced Quality of Care Model (EQoC) in 2025. The model assessed clients’ risk levels for falls and other incidents, allowing caregivers to intervene faster. The program improves outcomes and can foster more successful negotiations with payers, Matthew Kroll, Bayada’s practice president of personal care services, previously told Home Health Care News.

Bayada provides home health, home care, hospice and behavioral health care services in 23 states and internationally.

Delray Beach, Florida-based TheKey, which provides home care in 100 markets across U.S., Canada and Australia, has launched a mandatory training program designed to reduce falls.

“[The training involves] how you support a client in their home and perform safe transfers that not only help reduce any form of injury for our caregivers, but also it’s building their confidence, strengthening their skill sets, building new skills. That’s all promoting safety for our clients,” Mansi Mehta, vice president of human resource operations, previously told HHCN. 

Falls among older adults lead to approximately 4.5 million emergency department visits and 1.4 million hospitalizations each year, according to the CDC.

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