The George Washington University (GW) partnered with the Department of Aging and Community Living to host Falls Prevention Awareness Day for older adults in the University Student Center on September 23, 2025. The interdisciplinary community event united various students and faculty from GW and Howard University to empower older adults and reduce their risk of falling.
“This was a very important event because it allowed students to practice their clinical skills, give back to the local community, and collaborate with peers across programs such as occupational therapy (OT), physician assistant (PA), physical therapy (PT), and public health (PH),” said GW assistant professor of OT, Sarah Doerrer, PhD, OTR/L, CHT, CLT.
Students performed screenings for strength, vision, balance, and blood pressure, distributed questionnaires related to fall history and diabetes risk, and provided demonstrations on home safety, seated exercises, and fall recovery techniques.
“Participating in Falls Prevention Awareness Day deepened my connection to both my community and my path as a PA/MPH student,” said Paige Munsey, a student in the physician assistant studies program. “The event reinforced a key takeaway: the interdisciplinary nature of healthcare must be universal to truly meet community needs, and fall prevention benefits everyone. During the event, I spent most of my time at the check-out station, where I saw older adults leave feeling proud, empowered, and confident about staying safe at home. Bringing together students and older community members was both meaningful and inspiring.”
Second-year OTD students, Emma Screws and Meghan Ofori, emphasized the importance of gaining hands-on learning experiences and analyzing a client’s overall health. “I was able to speak with real-life participants, and understand the importance of standby assistance, or contact guarding, for safety. It was a really great way to apply what we’ve been learning in class to real life,” said Ofori, who was stationed at the Timed Up and Go station. “At the vision station, we provided two different assessments–visual acuity and contrast sensitivity–which is important because a lot of people don’t get their eyes checked yearly, and vision and environmental factors play a large role in fall risks,” said Screws.
Second-year PT student Anna O'Leary reflected on the organization efforts leading up to the event and the positive feedback from the attendees: “Collaborating with Elexa Waugh-Quasebart from Safe at Home program, Joyce Chen, Mara Delmare, and numerous other healthcare professionals and students to facilitate this event was an incredibly meaningful experience and highlighted the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and how it can create a positive impact on the community. It was so nice to hear directly from participants throughout the event about how much they enjoyed and appreciated having an event like Falls Prevention Awareness Day.”
The event also served as an educational opportunity for healthcare advocates and legislative representatives and correspondents from AOTA and APTA who are urging members of Congress to pass bills in support of fall risk prevention, such as; preemptively identifying and treating older adults at risk of falling, improving falls prevention research, expanding coverage under the Medicare program, and more.
Falls Prevention Awareness Day at GW was organized by Sarah Doerrer, PhD, OTR/L, CHT, CLT and second-year OTD student Raya Roustom, and conducted in partnership with the DC Government, AARP, The Villages, and the Safe at Home program. Grant funding for the event was provided by the GW Honey W. Nashman Center for Civic Engagement and Public Service.
