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HHS has named eight recipients for a $27.8 million, three-year effort to prevent falls among older adults. The awards will expand the CDC’s STEADI and Stepping On programs; each recipient is slated to receive $1,940,162, subject to fund availability.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has named eight recipients of a $27.8 million, three-year funding initiative aimed at reducing falls among older adults. The awards will expand two prevention programs and support partnerships between health care providers and community organizations, including work by two recipients that provide or support care at home.
HHS said each recipient is set to receive $1,940,162, subject to fund availability. The awardees are Health Research, Inc.; Maryland Department of Health; CHPcommunity, Inc., doing business as Iowa Community HUB; AgeOptions, Inc.; Texas A&M University; Partners In Care Foundation; Central Maine Area Agency on Aging; and The Oasis Institute.
The funding will expand the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths & Injuries (STEADI) program and Stepping On, a community-based falls prevention program. STEADI is intended to help health care providers screen for fall risk, assess it and take steps to address it. Stepping On works with older adults on strength and balance and on identifying risks linked to falls.
Among the awardees, Central Maine Area Agency on Aging offers adult day services and personal support through its Bridges program, as well as meals and caregiver support. Partners In Care Foundation provides care management, in-home assessments, care-transition support and community-based health programs. HHS said the awards are intended to expand programs described as proven, build connections between health care and community organizations, and help states and local groups prevent falls.
Funding Connects Clinics and Communities
The awards bring $27.8 million over three years to programs that address fall risks in both health care and community settings. That mix matters because the funded approaches include provider screening and assessment, as well as community activities focused on strength, balance and risks in older adults’ daily lives. The recipient list also includes organizations with home-based assessment and support services, linking the initiative to efforts that can reach people where they live.
The public health burden is substantial: the CDC estimates that falls among older adults lead to about 4.5 million emergency department visits and 1.4 million hospitalizations each year. Those figures describe annual visits and hospitalizations, not the expected effect of this particular funding. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the investment is intended to reduce injuries and health care costs while helping older adults remain safely in their homes and communities; the source material does not provide projected savings or a quantified reduction in falls.
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Two Programs Anchor the Awards
The funding builds on existing prevention models rather than announcing a single new intervention. STEADI, developed by the CDC, focuses on helping health care providers identify and respond to fall risk. Stepping On uses community programming to address strength, balance and fall-related risks. HHS says the initiative will expand both programs, though the announcement details provided do not specify how expansion will be carried out in each awardee’s area.
Home care organizations have also pursued their own approaches to fall prevention. Home Health Care News reported that Bayada Home Health Care introduced its Enhanced Quality of Care Model in 2025 to assess clients’ risks of falls and other incidents. TheKey has described mandatory staff training on supporting clients at home and performing safe transfers. Those examples provide industry context, but they are separate from the eight HHS awards and do not establish the results of the federally funded initiative.
““That’s all promoting safety for our clients.””
— Mansi Mehta, TheKey’s vice president of human resource operations, in a previous interview with Home Health Care News
Award Plans and Outcomes Await Detail
The announcement identifies the recipients, total funding and programs to be expanded, but the available details do not break down how much each organization will spend on particular activities, where services will be delivered or when expansion will begin. HHS says the per-recipient award is subject to fund availability, and the source material does not specify grant start dates, reporting requirements or implementation milestones.
It is also not yet clear what measures HHS will use to judge results, or whether the initiative has set targets for reducing falls, emergency visits, hospitalizations or costs. The CDC’s annual figures describe the broader burden of falls; they are not a baseline or forecast for these awards. The expected benefits cited by HHS remain department statements, rather than reported outcomes from this new funding.
Implementation Details to Follow
The next developments will be the recipients’ plans for expanding STEADI and Stepping On and the start of funded activities over the three-year award period. HHS and the awardees may provide further information on local partnerships, service areas, schedules and how the work will be evaluated. The announcement supplied here does not give dates for those updates, so the timing of program launches and progress reports remains unknown.
For now, the confirmed step is the naming of the eight recipients and the stated award amounts, subject to fund availability. Evidence about impact will depend on later information about implementation and outcomes, including whether the programs reach older adults and whether measured fall-related injuries or health care use change during the funding period.
Key Questions
How much is HHS investing in the fall-prevention initiative?
HHS announced a $27.8 million fund covering three years. Each of the eight named recipients is slated to receive $1,940,162, subject to fund availability.
Which programs will receive support?
The funding will expand the CDC’s STEADI program, which helps health care providers screen for and address fall risk, and Stepping On, a community-based program focused on strength, balance and fall-related risks.
Which awardees provide or support care at home?
Central Maine Area Agency on Aging provides adult day services, personal support, meals and caregiver support. Partners In Care Foundation offers care management, in-home assessments, care-transition support and community-based health programs.
How many falls or injuries will the funding prevent?
The announcement does not provide a target or forecast for the number of falls or injuries the initiative will prevent. HHS says the investment is intended to reduce injuries and health care costs, but measured results are not yet available.
When will the funded programs begin?
The awards cover three years, but the announcement details provided do not state specific start dates or local implementation schedules. Those details remain to be confirmed by HHS or the recipients.
Source: rss
