BUTLER TWP — Flo Parker of Jefferson Township used to dabble in music, but a broken wrist has thwarted her success at the once-loved pastime.

"I (just) fell down the last stair," said Parker, 80, describing what could be viewed as a minor fall.

"I used to play the guitar, and now I can't."

Although the accident provided a harsh awareness of how an accident can change your life, the fall also prompted Parker to seek more knowledge Tuesday at a seminar at the Tanglewood Center.

Hosted by the Lutheran Service Society and the Butler County Area Agency on Aging, the Pennsylvania's Healthy Steps for Older Adults program is being offered in two, two-hour sessions at four sites in the county.

Conducted over two consecutive weeks, the seminars are being led by wellness professionals and contain lectures, skits and dialogue between clients and presenters.

Topics include environmental safety, physical conditioning, nutrition, foot health, sensory deficits and more.

Nick Reiser, director of rehabilitation for Concordia Lutheran Ministries' four campuses, presented Tuesday at Tanglewood.

As part of that seminar, Reiser relied on "actors" from the Lutheran Service Society and the Agency on Aging to depict a scene at a doctor's office, where a patient reluctantly asked about the frequent need to rush to the bathroom.

A potential contributor to falls, Reiser explained the different reasons for incontinence and the possible paths to help.

With medication among those solutions, Reiser also discussed dizziness as a side effect of many drugs and the importance of grilling doctors and pharmacists.

"Be prepared. Write down a list of questions and have (the doctor provide) an answer for you," Reiser said.

"Use the pharmacist. ... That's what they went to school for. They aren't there to count pills."

In the case of a fall, the seminars also include tips on safe ways to get up, with the suggestion that friends call each other at designated times, seeking out help if the phone goes unanswered.

Representatives from the agencies also did a skit about a couple waiting in a movie theater line, where lack of movement also might precede a fall.

The representatives then demonstrated various head, arm and leg movements easily done while standing in place.

"It's not good to sit for long periods of time," noted Darla DiBiase, an information and referral specialist from the Agency on Aging.

"You want to keep moving. Even watching TV in the evenings — these are good things to do."

For seniors interested in more structure, Maureen Huff, the Lutheran Service Society's program director, said exercise programs like Silver Sneakers and Healthy Steps for Seniors are offered at most of the local senior centers.

"Any type of exercise will help your balance and prevent you from falling," she said.

Huff is among those coordinating the Pennsylvania's Healthy Steps for Older Adults program, which is being funded by the state Department of Aging, with all 11 of the county's senior centers participating.

Citing a collaborative study between the Department of Aging and the University of California, Berkeley, Huff said falls in recent years were the leading cause of injury-related hospitalizations among Pennsylvanians 65 and older.

Although grant funding likely was based on this fact and other conclusions of the study, Huff said the program is being offered because of its value to seniors.

"We were funded for approximately 90 seniors, but I believe we're going to end up serving about 125 — but that's OK," she said.

"The more people we can reach, the better. It's important we raise their awareness about the causes of falls and the ways we can prevent them."

Although funding for the Pennsylvania's Healthy Steps for Older Adults seminar was obtained for only one round of sessions, Huff said the agencies hope to repeat the programs in the future.

For more information, send an e-mail to info aaainfo@county.butler.pa.us.

• More than one-third of adults over the age of 65 fall each year.• Older adults are hospitalized for fall-related injuries five times more often than for other types of injures.• Half of older adults who suffer a hip fracture are never able to live independently afterward.• The rate of fall-related injuries increases rapidly after the age of 55 for women and 60 for men.• Most falls occur in people's homes as they do their regular daily activities.Source: Pennsylvania Department of Aging