S. Amdt. 2622 - In the Nature of a Substitute.

Safety of Seniors Act of 2007

S. 845 — 110^th Congress (2007–2008)

Summary

A bill to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to expand and intensify programs with respect to research and related activities concerning elder falls. (by CRS)

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Title

A bill to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to expand and intensify programs with respect to research and related activities concerning elder falls.

Other Titles

• Keeping Seniors Safe From Falls Act of 2007
• Safety of Seniors Act of 2007
• Safety of Seniors Act of 2007
• Safety of Seniors Act of 2007
• Safety of Seniors Act of 2007

Sponsor

Michael Enzi

Co-Sponsors

• Edward Kennedy
• Orrin Hatch
• Barbara Mikulski
• Herbert Kohl

Subjects

• Aged
• Accident prevention
• Architecture and the disabled
• Budgets
• Caregivers
• Congress
• Congressional reporting requirements
• Continuum of care
• Disabled
• Education
• Federal aid to research
• Federal aid to the aged
• Geriatrics
• Government information
• Government publicity
• Governmental investigations
• Health counseling
• Health policy
• Higher education
• Home repair and improvement
• Housing
• Housing for the aged
• Life care communities
• Medical economics
• Medical education
• Medical research
• Medical screening
• Medical statistics
• Medicare
• Medicine
• Preventive medicine
• Rehabilitation of the disabled
• Science policy

Related Bills

• H.R. 3701 (110^th) : Safety of Seniors Act of 2008

Major Actions

Introduced	3/12/2007
Referred to Committee
Amendments (1 proposed)
Passed Senate	8/01/2007
Passed House	4/08/2008
Signed by President	4/23/2008

Bill History

• All Votes
• All Actions
• Amendments

	Chamber/Committee	Motion	Date	Result
select this vote	Senate	Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.	8/01/2007	PASSED by voice vote
currently selected	Senate	Amendment SA 2622 agreed to in Senate by Unanimous Consent.	8/01/2007	PASSED by voice vote
select this vote	House	On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.	4/08/2008	PASSED by voice vote

	Action	Date	Description
	Introduced	3/12/2007
		3/12/2007	Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
	Put on a legislative calendar	3/15/2007	Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
		3/29/2007	Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Reported by Senator Kennedy with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
	Put on a legislative calendar	3/29/2007	Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 99.
		6/28/2007	By Senator Kennedy from Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions filed written report. Report No. 110-110.
		8/01/2007	Measure laid before Senate by unanimous consent.
		8/01/2007	The committee substitute as amended agreed to by Unanimous Consent.
select this vote	Senate Vote on Passage	8/01/2007	Passed Senate with an amendment by Unanimous Consent.
		8/01/2007	Amendment SA 2622 proposed by Senator Casey for Senator Enzi.
currently selected	Vote	8/01/2007	Amendment SA 2622 agreed to in Senate by Unanimous Consent.
		8/02/2007	Message on Senate action sent to the House.
		8/02/2007	Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
		8/02/2007	Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
		8/02/2007	Received in the House.
	Presented to President	4/08/2008	Cleared for White House.
		4/08/2008	Mrs. Capps moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill.
		4/08/2008	Considered under suspension of the rules.
		4/08/2008	DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on S. 845.
select this vote	House Vote on Passage	4/08/2008	On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill Agreed to by voice vote.
	Presented to President	4/14/2008	Presented to President.
	Signed	4/23/2008	Signed by President.
	Enacted	4/23/2008	Became Public Law No: 110-202.

	Number	Sponsor	Date Offered	Status
currently selected	S. Amdt. 2622	Enzi, Michael [R-WY]	August 1, 2007	Passed by voice vote on August 1, 2007.
	In the nature of a substitute. Actions August 1, 2007, 12:00 am ET - Amendment SA 2622 proposed by Senator Casey for Senator Enzi. August 1, 2007, 12:00 am ET - Amendment SA 2622 agreed to in Senate by Unanimous Consent. Full Text of this Amendment SA 2622. Mr. CASEY (for Mr. Enzi (for himself and Ms. Mikulski)) proposed an amendment to the bill S. 845, to direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to expand and intensify programs with respect to research and related activities concerning elder falls; as follows: Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Safety of Seniors Act of 2007''. SEC. 2. AMENDMENTS TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE ACT. Part J of title III of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 280b et seq.) is amended-- (1) by redesignating section 393B (as added by section 1401 of Public Law 106-386) as section 393C and transferring such section so that it appears after section 393B (as added by section 1301 of Public Law 106-310); and (2) by inserting after section 393C (as redesignated by paragraph (1)) the following: ``SEC. 393D. PREVENTION OF FALLS AMONG OLDER ADULTS. ``(a) Public Education.--The Secretary may-- ``(1) oversee and support a national education campaign to be carried out by a nonprofit organization with experience in designing and implementing national injury prevention programs, that is directed principally to older adults, their families, and health care providers, and that focuses on reducing falls among older adults and preventing repeat falls; and ``(2) award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to qualified organizations, institutions, or consortia of qualified organizations and institutions, specializing, or demonstrating expertise, in falls or fall prevention, for the purpose of organizing State-level coalitions of appropriate State and local agencies, safety, health, senior citizen, and other organizations to design and carry out local education campaigns, focusing on reducing falls among older adults and preventing repeat falls. ``(b) Research.-- ``(1) IN GENERAL.--The Secretary may-- ``(A) conduct and support research to-- ``(i) improve the identification of older adults who have a high risk of falling; ``(ii) improve data collection and analysis to identify fall risk and protective factors; ``(iii) design, implement, and evaluate the most effective fall prevention interventions; ``(iv) improve strategies that are proven to be effective in reducing falls by tailoring these strategies to specific populations of older adults; ``(v) conduct research in order to maximize the dissemination of proven, effective fall prevention interventions; ``(vi) intensify proven interventions to prevent falls among older adults; ``(vii) improve the diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of elderly fall victims and older adults at high risk for falls; and ``(viii) assess the risk of falls occurring in various settings; ``(B) conduct research concerning barriers to the adoption of proven interventions with respect to the prevention of falls among older adults; ``(C) conduct research to develop, implement, and evaluate the most effective approaches to reducing falls among high-risk older adults living in communities and long-term care and assisted living facilities; and ``(D) evaluate the effectiveness of community programs designed to prevent falls among older adults. ``(2) EDUCATIONAL SUPPORT.--The Secretary, either directly or through awarding grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to qualified organizations, institutions, or consortia of qualified organizations and institutions, specializing, or demonstrating expertise, in falls or fall prevention, may provide professional education for physicians and allied health professionals, and aging service providers in fall prevention, evaluation, and management. ``(c) Demonstration Projects.--The Secretary may carry out the following: ``(1) Oversee and support demonstration and research projects to be carried out by qualified organizations, institutions, or consortia of qualified organizations and institutions, specializing, or demonstrating expertise, in falls or fall prevention, in the following areas: ``(A) A multistate demonstration project assessing the utility of targeted fall risk screening and referral programs. ``(B) Programs designed for community-dwelling older adults that utilize multicomponent fall intervention approaches, including physical activity, medication assessment and reduction when possible, vision enhancement, and home modification strategies. ``(C) Programs that are targeted to new fall victims who are at a high risk for second falls and which are designed to maximize independence and quality of life for older adults, particularly those older adults with functional limitations. ``(D) Private sector and public-private partnerships to develop technologies to prevent falls among older adults and prevent or reduce injuries if falls occur. ``(2)(A) Award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to qualified organizations, institutions, or consortia of qualified organizations and institutions, specializing, or demonstrating expertise, in falls or fall prevention, to design, implement, and evaluate fall prevention programs using proven intervention strategies in residential and institutional settings. ``(B) Award 1 or more grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to 1 or more qualified organizations, institutions, or consortia of qualified organizations and institutions, specializing, or demonstrating expertise, in falls or fall prevention, in order to carry out a multistate demonstration project to implement and evaluate fall prevention programs using proven intervention strategies designed for single and multifamily residential settings with high concentrations of older adults, including-- ``(i) identifying high-risk populations; ``(ii) evaluating residential facilities; ``(iii) conducting screening to identify high-risk individuals; ``(iv) providing fall assessment and risk reduction interventions and counseling; ``(v) coordinating services with health care and social service providers; and ``(vi) coordinating post-fall treatment and rehabilitation. ``(3) Award 1 or more grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to qualified organizations, institutions, or consortia of qualified organizations and institutions, specializing, or demonstrating expertise, in falls or fall prevention, to conduct evaluations of the effectiveness of the demonstration projects described in this subsection. ``(d) Priority.--In awarding grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements under this section, the Secretary may give priority to entities that explore the use of cost-sharing with respect to activities funded under the grant, contract, or agreement to ensure the institutional commitment of the recipients of such assistance to the projects funded under the grant, contract, or agreement. Such non-Federal cost sharing contributions may be provided directly or through donations from public or private entities and may be in cash or in-kind, fairly evaluated, including plant, equipment, or services. ``(e) Study of Effects of Falls on Health Care Costs.-- ``(1) IN GENERAL.--The Secretary may conduct a review of the effects of falls on health care costs, the potential for reducing falls, and the most effective strategies for reducing health care costs associated with falls. ``(2) REPORT.--If the Secretary conducts the review under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall, not later than 36 months after the date of enactment of the Safety of Seniors Act of 2007, submit to Congress a report describing the findings of the Secretary in conducting such review.''. (As printed in the Congressional Record for the Senate on Aug 1, 2007.)