Safety of Seniors Act of 2008 - Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) oversee and support a national education campaign focusing on reducing falls among older adults and preventing repeat falls; and (2) award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to design and carry out local education campaigns.
Allows the Secretary to conduct and support research to: (1) improve the identification of older adults who have a high risk of falling; (2) improve data collection and analysis to identify fall risk and protective factors; (3) design, implement, and evaluate the most effective fall prevention interventions; (4) tailor effective strategies to reduce falls to specific populations of older adults; (5) maximize the dissemination of proven, effective fall prevention interventions; (6) improve the diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of elderly fall victims and older adults at high risk for falls; and (7) assess the risks of falls occurring in various settings.
Authorizes the Secretary to: (1) conduct research concerning the barriers to the adoption of proven fall prevention interventions; (2) conduct research to develop, implement, and evaluate the most effective approaches to reduce falls among high-risk older adults living in communities and long-term care and assisted living facilities; (3) evaluate the effectiveness of community programs; (4) provide professional education for physicians and allied health professionals in fall prevention; (5) oversee and support specified demonstration and research projects; (6) award grants to design, implement, and evaluate fall prevention programs using proven intervention strategies and carry out a multistate demonstration project; (7) give priority in awarding grants under this Act to entities that explore the use of cost-sharing to ensure the institutional commitment of the recipients of such assistance to the funded projects; and (8) report to Congress on the effects of falls on health care costs, the potential for reducing falls, and the most effective strategies for reducing associated health care costs.