What defines a near fall and what defines afall? Near falls occur if you trip, slip, or misstep and catch yourself before falling to the ground/floor. Falls occur if you trip, slip, or misstep and land on the ground/floor.
If you experience a fall or near fall, please remember to mark your paper calendar for either event. Please report every month by the 15th day of the following month!
When you mail in your calendar, please use one adhesive dot (provided) or one piece of tape to seal the paper. Please avoid staples.
~ Jess, FIGS Calendar Manager
Follow-Up Year 2 Testing
Follow-up year 2 testing takes approximately 2 hours to complete.
Please wear comfortable clothing to your FIGS visit, including shoes and socks that you can take off for the walking and balance portions of testing.
When you arrive at the Wilmer Eye Institute, please check in at the front desk at the main entrance on the first floor. After you check in, you may go downstairs to the Glaucoma Clinic and let the front desk staff know that you have arrived.
After your FIGS testing appointment, we will give you two study devices to wear for 7 days (pedometer and GPS). In some cases, we will send out devices to participants a few weeks before their scheduled appointments.
“Falls are a major risk for people with impaired vision caused by glaucoma. Many avoid leaving home for fear of falling. The FIG Study finds behaviors that reduce the risk of falling and return access to the world for those with advanced glaucoma. When I make a contribution to FIGS and volunteer to participate in the study, I feel the dual satisfactions of knowing that I am making my life better and safer and also safeguarding the safety and freedom of fellow glaucoma sufferers.”
– Ron Levin, FIGS Participant and Supporter
Advances in healthcare – new insights, therapies, and cures – happen thanks to investments from individuals, like Ron, who believe in the promise of science. These leaps forward begin with steps that philanthropy initiates. With your support and that of others, Dr. Ramulu hopes to gain valuable data for developing interventions to prevent falls and ultimately improve the quality of life for glaucoma patients. Your consideration to support the Falls in Glaucoma Study gives our clinician scientists flexibility in nurturing medical innovations to fruition one step at a time.
Thank you for your partnership in the FIGS program and for your consideration to make a gift. We are grateful for all that you do to advance our work at the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute!
To make a gift, please make your check out to the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute, and on the memo of the check please indicate that you would like your gift to support Dr. Ramulu’s Falls in Glaucoma Study. You can mail your check to:
Wilmer Eye Institute Wilmer Development Office, Wilmer 112 1800 Orleans Street Baltimore, MD 21287
Visit the Wilmer Eye Institute online atwww.wilmer.org or call the Development Office at 410-955-2020.
Falling is the #1 cause of accidental death in older Americans.
Patients with glaucoma have a greater fear of falling.
This leads to large impact on lifestyle choices, including less travel outside of the home, less walking/physical activity, and decrease in quality of life.
Decreasing falls also helps to avoid injury and large hospital costs.
What questions are we trying to answer?
Who is at significant risk for falls?
What reversible factors are important to address to prevent falls?
What are the downstream effects of falls?
Is fall prevention likely to address other mobility problems including low physical activity and home isolation?
Do fall prevention efforts need to focus on hazards inside the home, outside the home, or both?
What specifically needs to be addressed as part of fall prevention efforts?
Watch this video, courtesy of Johns Hopkins Medicine, featuring Principal Investigator Dr. Pradeep Ramulu. Dr. Ramulu talks about a variety of research being completed at the Wilmer Eye Institute to improve the reading and physical ability of patients suffering from glaucoma, just like FIGS!
