Fall risk assessments at home
Falls are the leading cause of injury for older adults — and the crisis our paramedics respond to most. Many of them are preventable. A Salus fall risk assessment evaluates both halves of the risk: the person (balance, mobility, strength, footwear, medications that can affect steadiness) and the environment (rugs, lighting, bathrooms, stairs) — because the rug in the hallway matters as much as the strength in their legs.
Straight answer
What is a fall risk assessment?
A fall risk assessment is a structured visit in which a Firefighter/Paramedic observes how a person stands, walks, turns and rises from a chair, reviews the factors that can affect steadiness, and inspects the places in their own home where balance is most tested. It ends in a written, prioritised list of concerns.
How we think about it
Fall risk has two halves: the person and the home
A clinic can watch someone walk. It cannot see the throw rug at the foot of their bed, the bulb that burned out in the hallway in March, or the fact that the nearest thing to hold on to between the bed and the bathroom is a dresser on castors. Assessing only the person misses half the picture; assessing only the house misses the other half.
So we do both in one visit, in the place where a fall would actually happen. Watching someone move through their own rooms shows us what a corridor in a medical office never would.
Half one
What we assess in the person
- Standing balance, and how steady a turn is in both directions
- Gait — stride length, foot clearance, shuffling, and what happens on a threshold
- Lower-body strength, judged by how a chair or bed is risen from
- Footwear actually worn indoors, plus the fit and height of any cane or walker
- Reported vision changes, lightheadedness on standing, or episodes of dizziness
- Medicines whose known side effects can affect steadiness — noted, never adjusted
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Half two
What we assess in the home
Not a full inspection — that is a separate service. Here we follow the four moments in a day when balance is most tested, and look at what is under and around the person at each one.
- Getting out of bedMattress height against leg length, what there is to push off, and whether the first step lands on carpet, tile or a rug edge.
- The bathroom transferOn and off the toilet, in and out of the tub, and whether the thing being grabbed is anchored or is a towel rail.
- The route walked at 3amWe walk it in the dark ourselves — switch positions, shadows, and every obstacle along the path between bed and bathroom.
- Changes of surface and levelThresholds, loose rug corners, trailing cords, wet tile by the kitchen sink, and each stair with its handrail.
Afterwards
What you receive
A written summary in plain language, ordered by what we would deal with first. Each concern says what we observed, why it matters for this person, and what a reasonable next step looks like. Anything belonging to a clinician — a gait change, reported dizziness, a medicine worth a second look — is flagged for their physician rather than acted on by us.
The environmental findings often lead families into a fuller home safety assessment. Where balance concerns come with speech, memory or coordination changes, a neurological assessment is the better next visit, and repeat vital signs monitoring may help families notice a drift over time. We assess homes throughout Miami and the surrounding counties.
Please note
This is prevention, not emergency response
Every Salus visit is booked ahead as preventive care, and we are not a substitute for emergency services. If someone has fallen and cannot get up, or seems unwell in a way that might be an emergency, call 911 before calling us.
Common questions
Fall risk assessment FAQs
It's exactly the right time. A post-fall evaluation looks at what happened and what may reduce the chance of a repeat — and we flag anything that needs their doctor's attention.
Nothing strenuous, and nothing anyone can fail. We ask her to do ordinary things — stand up, walk to the kitchen, turn around — at her own pace, and we stay beside her throughout.
It is a conversation, held at her kitchen table, in her home. Most of what we learn comes from watching an ordinary walk through ordinary rooms, and she decides what happens with the findings.
We document them and put them in the summary for her physician; we never change or stop anything ourselves. Families wanting the full picture usually add a medication review.
Further reading on fall prevention
Make the home safer to move through
Start with a $99 introductory visit — no membership required, no pressure, honest answers.