GOSH, I didn’t know
when I was going
through my Humpty-
Dumpty act for that
week that falling at my
age was so prevalent
and cost our health
plan so much money.

The North Shore Health
Group sees it as so serious a
state that they have set up a
special initiative devoted
entirely to developing strate-
gies they hope will keep us
on our Own two feet.
We'd better watch our step.
In 1992 it cost three million
dollars just for hospitalizing
the fallers here on the North
Shore, and that doesn’t
include all the costs for emer-
gency attention, physician’s
visits, day surgery and reha-
bilitation.
Home care was a big item
too. And listen, that figure of
three million dollars just
applies to the 300 who were
actually hospitalized.
The following statement
really shocked my senses:
“Falls are the number one
cause of injury-related hospi-
talizaiions and injury-related
deaths amongst seniors.” Put
that together with the fact that
the old folks on this Shore
fall down about 7,000 times,
total, every year, and you’ve
got areason for concern. ©
They fracture their hips,
but that’s the most infrequent
of the real damages, thank
goodness. They fracture
wrists and ankles and ribs,
too, but most often they just
bruise ard cut and scrape and
_: generally mangle their flesh,
'.as I did this last time.

_T'd hate to be the one to
.. repeat these falls to the point

Where all those involved
“couldn’t put the old lady
together again,” so when the
- North Shore Health group
invited me to hear their
Strategic Action Plan for
Falls Prevention a few days
ago I was delighted to sit in. I
learned a lot of things.

More old ladies than old

. men fali down, by a Jong

’ shot. Mind you, there are
more of us old ladies, we last
longer, even if we do fall
down.’ -

Three quarters of the 7,000

preventable falls per year are

. , taken by women, and almost

half of those women are

THE BAY

J CORRECTION NOTICE

In our B10-1A Gifts for the Home flye7,
Mini Glue Gun page 8 will be late -
‘rainchecks will be available at the store.
{n our 610-1 Christmas flyer, Outdoor
Light Set on front cover should have read
25 lights not 25 feet. Mini Diamond Rings
on page 35 should hava read 0,01 ct dia-
mong not O.1ct diamond, Maidenform
Innerfashions on page 35 is not
available in black. Tamra sweaters
on page 41 will be fate - rainchecks
will be available at the store.
Sorry for any inconvenience this may
have caused.

THE VINTAGE YEARS
between 75 and 85.

Women of all ages are two
to three times more likely to
fal! than men. What about
that? Do old men’s shoes sup-
port them better? I'd guess so
— they weren’t brought up,
like us ladies, to covet a pret-
ty arch, a come-hither ankle.
And so they flap along far
steadier in their sensible
boots and brogues.

I haven't worn high heels
for years, but the shoes I do
wear are often slip-on flat
things that don’t do much to
provide a solid support. Time
for something sturdy, obvi-
ously.

The trouble is, one fall can
trigger others, or the fear of
others, and thus inhibit the
outdoor exercise all of us
need, to say nothing of the
human contact. If we wrap
ourselves in timidity we tend
to shrivel up, twice as fast as
the bold affirmative confident
Striders.

Plain common sense
demands that we take a hard
look at the way we walk. Not
only at the foot work, of
course. There’s how well we
see and how clear our minds
are and how deliberately we
take to the road. Some of our
medications may need adjust-
ing — I’m sure some of us go
on taking prescribed medi-
cine past the time when it is
doing us good. And certainly

Pharmacist
Capsule Comments
November is National Pharmacy
Awareness Week, a time to think
of the role your pharmacist plays
in your life. One of our main
functions is communicating to
you important facts about the
proper use of medication. We
spend a large part of our day talk-
ing to you, the customer and feel
. that it is really worth the effort.
Our role is to help you under-
stand your medication, therefore
allowing you to maintain the
healthiest lifestyle possible.

JAVIES PHARMACG

some of us forget, every once
in a while, whether we've
iaken the darn thing or
haven't.

Oh well, have another just
in case. Bad idea.

There ure street hazards,
Lots of our sidewalks have
uneven areas of paving, and
stepping off them requires
careful attention. But the
easements at corners for
wheelchairs and baby-bug-
gies are a benefit to us old
folks.

It's true some of us are not
too frisky at controlled cross-
ings — it takes us longer than
normal to make it to safe har-
bor on the other side..Don’t
worry about that — as long as
you have the little white man
with you when you step off
the curb you have the right to
cross the street.

Best to be as brisk as you
can, though, these days.
Some of our population are in
a nasty mood.

lam a frequent walker on
Lonsdale and its cross-streets
(I have the European habit of
shopping daily for foodstuffs.
It also “gets me out.”) But in
just these last months I've
seen some shocking infrac-
tions by traffic and by pedes-
trians at controlled crossings
-— both drivers and pedestri-
ans seem to be more impa-
tient, less willing to wait for
one another.

You and I need more vigi-
lance than ever. Walking’s
great stuff, but you have to be
on the alert.

P.S. The birthday fairy laid
double sevens on me this last
week.

I am reminded of Casey
Stengel, who, when he was
7i, was named manager of the
New York Mets. He was
aware that he was a bit long
in the tooth for the job
because, when congratulated,
he was heard to say “You
know, a lot of people my age
are dead already.”

That’s how [ look at it too.

We offer a wide assortment
of products to help you take the
right medication at the right time.

Details in store.

N.S. Women’s
Health Centre
Planning
Committee

Women’s Health Issues

including:
e the N.S. Women’s
Health Centre
* Menopause
e Alternative Medicine

e Fibromyalgia &
Chronic Fatigue

¢ Eating Disorders
in Teens

| Thursday November 17 - 7:30 pm :

C recCentre Delbrcok
4 600 W. Queens Road
North Vancouver

Panelists:
¢ Arlene Gladstone M.S.W., R.S.W..
Director, Family Services North Shore. 4
¢ Elliott Goldner, M.D.
Co-Director Eating Disorders Clinic -
St. Paul’s Hospital
° Mobina Jaffer, Lawyer
e Suzanne Montemuro, M.D.
Family Physician
e Paulette Roscoe, N.D.
Naturopath
¢ Rhonda Schukett, M.D., F.R.C. P. oe
Rhuematologist Me,
Moderator: .
*Pam Goldsmith-Jones, _
Councellor, North Vancouver District

Donations wiil be accepted on behalve: off

l!North Shore Women's s Health centre

Important medication disposal
information.

Davies Pharmacy is proud to offer a-
medication disposal system for the
entire North Shore Community.

Sharpe's disposal container.
$3.% (one time charge)
plus °2.° dumping fee

Please feel free to ask any questions you may have regarding your medications

1401 St. Georges Ave.
{across from Lions Gate Emergency) S85- 8771