Falls are a major threat to the health and independence of older adults. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports 36 million older adults fall each year, with falls often leading to serious injuries and death.

One second, Bill Verrier, who works in Engineering Services at South Shore Hospital, was racing to the Hospital’s dining room, to sell M&Ms to support his favorite charitable program, the Walk for Hospice. The next, he was laid out on the dining hall floor from a heart attack with a second one on...