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9 LONG TITLE
10 General Description:
11 This joint resolution expresses support for programs that seek to coordinate transition
12 of care for older adults and other patient populations receiving home health care
13 services.
14 Highlighted Provisions:
15 This joint resolution:
16 ▸ includes statistics about the number of older adult fall-related injuries in Utah;
17 ▸ describes the actions taken by the Utah Falls Prevention Alliance to reduce the
18 number of older adult falls in Utah and improve the coordination of care for older
19 adults;
20 ▸ acknowledges the benefit of efforts to develop and implement technology to assist
21 with coordination of care for older adults and other patient populations receiving
22 home health care services; and
23 ▸ expresses support for the submission of a grant to the Centers for Medicare and
24 Medicaid Services to develop and implement technology that will improve the
25 coordination of care for older adults and potentially other patient populations
26 receiving home health care services.
27 Special Clauses:
28 None
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30 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
31 WHEREAS, falls are the leading cause of injury-related death and hospitalization for
32 Utahns 65 years of age and older;
33 WHEREAS, every week an estimated 200 older adults in Utah seek treatment in an
34 emergency department after a fall-related injury;
35 WHEREAS, older adult falls are preventable with appropriate evaluation, intervention,
36 and coordination of care;
37 WHEREAS, the Utah Falls Prevention Alliance, a group of diverse stakeholders
38 dedicated to reducing falls and fall-related injuries in Utah's older adult population, including
39 the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), the Utah Commission on Aging, the
40 Utah Medical Association, the Utah Hospital Association, the Utah Association for Home
41 Care, and the Division of Aging and Adult Services, first convened in 2017 after the passage of
42 S.J.R. 8, Joint Resolution Encouraging Study to Reduce Fall-Related Injuries;
43 WHEREAS, the Utah Falls Prevention Alliance works to increase public awareness of
44 older adult fall prevention and to improve coordination of care for older adults by building
45 connections between health care providers, emergency medical services, aging agencies, and
46 health insurers;
47 WHEREAS, the Utah Falls Prevention Alliance is the recipient of certain grants that
48 support efforts to reduce the number of older adult falls in Utah;
49 WHEREAS, the Utah Falls Prevention Alliance developed and implemented a falls
50 prevention program at an apartment complex that houses older adults that decreased 911 calls
51 for falls;
52 WHEREAS, the Utah Falls Prevention Alliance identified that timeliness in initiating
53 home health care services greatly reduces rehospitalization risk and downstream medical costs;
54 WHEREAS, the Utah Falls Prevention Alliance identified that the start of home health
55 care services after an older adult's fall is often delayed due to challenges in contacting an older
56 adult's primary care provider to gain approval to begin treatment;
57 WHEREAS, the Utah Falls Prevention Alliance identified that streamlining
58 communication between a primary care provider and a home health care provider would reduce
59 the wait time before treatment begins and improve coordination of care for older adults;
60 WHEREAS, the Utah Falls Prevention Alliance identified that streamlining
61 communication between a primary care provider and other care providers may also be
62 beneficial to patient populations other than older adults; and
63 WHEREAS, the Utah Falls Prevention Alliance identified that communication can be
64 streamlined by creating a central electronic location where a primary care provider and a home
65 health care provider can communicate, monitor patient status, and quickly adjust treatment as
66 needed:
67 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah
68 supports programs that improve the coordination of care for older adults receiving home health
69 care services.