Overview
Elizabeth Head’s area of expertise is aging and injury prevention. She earned her master’s degree in Public Health from Georgia State University. She has worked with in public health for seventeen years. As deputy director for the Injury Prevention Program at the Georgia Department of Public Health, Elizabeth coordinates the B-SEEN project for Georgia, funded by CDC. This project aims to incorporate public health into dementia, including Alzheimer’s work happening in the state. In addition, she manages highway safety grants staff and Injury Prevention Program staff working on projects across the lifespan. She has worked with national, state, and local partners on a variety of injury topics including fire prevention, drowning prevention, older adult driver safety and fall prevention. Elizabeth spends her free time enjoying quality time with her family.
Megan Passineau, MPH, is the Implementation Specialist for the CDC funded Core SIPP grant with the Georgia Department of Public Health Injury Prevention Program. In this role, she coordinates and evaluates programmatic efforts across 4 focus areas; Motor Vehicle Safety, ACEs, TBI, and Fall Prevention. Megan recently developed an innovative fall prevention initiative, the Fall Prevention Nature Walk, inspired by the Let’s Move Libraries StoryWalk® Campaign. Megan has collaborated with state and local partners on projects across the state on fall prevention, and child passenger safety. Megan received her bachelor’s degree in health sciences from Concordia University Wisconsin and her master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. Megan is a Wisconsin native and recent Atlanta transplant who enjoys baking and spending time at the beach with her family and friends.
In the United States, 28% of adults aged 65 and older report falling each year, resulting in approximately 36 million falls and 8 million fall-related injuries each year. Most falls are preventable. Falls are NOT an inevitable part of aging. In fact, managing your risk of a fall could help you be safer while driving a car and help you have a healthier brain! Join us to learn how strength and balance exercises, managing medication, and creating a safe living environment can prevent falls. Participants will also hear from experts on the connection between fall prevention strategies, brain health and drivers’ safety. The session will conclude with a review of available resources and an open group discussion.
Intended audience: Drivers aged 55 and older and their families and care partners; students in health care, public health, and social service professions; interested general public.
