National Falls Prevention Awareness Day is September 23. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, falls are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries to older adults. Falls result in more than 2.4 million injuries treated in emergency departments annually, including over 772,000 hospitalizations and more than 21,700 deaths. This year’s theme, Strong Today—Falls Free Tomorrow, highlights the important roles professionals, older adults, caregivers, and family members play in raising awareness and preventing falls in the older adult population.

The Administration for Community Living (ACL) in collaboration with the Assistant Secretary for Planning & Evaluation joined together to fund, the National Resource Center for Participant Directed Services (NRCPDS) to produce technical assistance resources to help states and participant direction program stakeholders comply with the US Department of Labor Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Home Care Final Rule that will take effect January 1, 2015. Learn more and download the kit.

National Hispanic Heritage Month is a month-long celebration of Hispanic culture, history, and contributions that lasts from September 15 until October 15. The theme for 2014 is, “Hispanics: A legacy of history, a present of action and a future of success.” Hispanics make up 17% of our nation’s total population.

Today marks the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people from 93 countries. On this day, we remember and mourn those who were lost. We honor the courage of the everyday heroes who helped others to safety and searched for survivors, often at the cost of their own lives. We recognize the work of those who have helped the nation heal.

ACL is pleased to announce awards totaling $2,023,646 to seventeen states to further implement the requirements of the Lifespan Respite Care Act of 2006.

In 1978, President Jimmy Carter designated the first Sunday after Labor Day, National Grandparents Day. This observance honors the ways grandparents improve the lives of others by sharing their wisdom and life experiences with younger generations. Even as they deal with advancing age, many grandparents continue to take an active role in providing for their family’s needs. In fact, according to the U.S. Census (PDF), more than 2.7 million adults are helping to raise their grandchildren.

The Administration on Aging, a program division within ACL, is pleased to announce it has awarded a grant to the Meals on Wheels Association of America for $225,000 for the first year of a three year project. This grant will continue to fund the National Resource Center on Nutrition and Aging.

August is National Immunization Awareness Month. Every year thousands of adults in the U.S. suffer serious health problems, are hospitalized, and even die from diseases that could be prevented by vaccines. For example, in 2012, there were approximately 32,000 cases of invasive pneumococcal disease, resulting in 3,300 deaths.