WIHA Announces 2023 LEAF awardees

Congratulations to our 2023 Localizing Efforts to Address Falls (LEAF) grant awardees.

The LEAF grants support community-based projects focused on reducing falls through locally-directed initiatives. Find a list of the awardees along with a brief description of their projects.

  • Marquette County Health Department will work with EMS to collect and analyze data and plan community events to provide home assessments and education on strategies to mitigate falls. They expect to continue community outreach by developing a coalition with their community partners.

  • De Pere Health Department will complete a comprehensive data collection and analysis to identify the most common causes, trends and health disparities related to falls in their jurisdiction. They will utilize the data to tailor education for a fall education event where they will have medication assessments, scatter rug collection, fall bingo, Q&A, etc.,

  • ADRC of Jackson County will implement Bingocize in person and/or virtually. They will engage participants in the program using their Community Health Worker to reach underserved community members.

  • ADRC of Dodge County will implement Strong Bodies for Dodge County. They will work with community partners to provide educational programming after class on nutrition, falls risk and home and community safety.

  • Kenosha County Division on Aging will partner with EMS to increase the number of referrals of those that have fallen to the ADRC for additional follow up and to provide resources such as Stepping On classes. They will incentivize persons agreeing to these referrals by offering a health and wellness item to them.

  • Safe Communities of Madison and Dane County will increase Activate Bailando, a Latin dance class, programming by training and recruiting new instructors. They will collect data on the program by incorporating balance pre- and post-testing to assess participant progress.

  • Gundersen Health System will offset the cost of Bingocize licensure at nine local independent and assisted living facilities. They will reach 15 facilitators that will provide a Bingocize program at least once per year over the next two years.

  • Oshkosh Seniors Center will develop a community awareness campaign. The first 200 people that sign up will receive a free baseline balance test, information on preventing falls and motion sensor night lights and will be encouraged to sign up for evidence-based classes.

  • Milwaukee County Falls Prevention Coalition will increase relationships with faith-based communities of color by offering falls prevention presentations, toolkits and events to them and increase Stepping On offerings within these communities by identifying additional facilitators of the program.

  • ADRC of Portage County will revitalize their coalition and develop referral and screening systems, increase attendance at their annual falls prevention resource fair and increase capacity to offer more Stepping On workshops in rural locations to reach underserved populations.