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Creating a Safe Home for Seniors

As parents, at some point you have undoubtedly “baby proofed” your home to ensure a safe environment for your growing and curious toddler. Similarly, modifications need to be made for seniors when they reach a certain point if they are living in their own homes or at home with you to ensure that they can function independently and safely in residence.

So how does one create a safe environment for seniors? There are essentially two main areas of focus when addressing this issue. First, you should properly maintain the home to ensure that it does not fall into disrepair. Second, you should modify the home with accoutrements, such as ramps, shower seats, lift bars and so forth to accommodate the physical limitations of the senior.

Home Maintenance

In all likelihood, you have experienced requests for assistance when going home to visit your parents or an elderly relative. At some point during your visit, you’ve probably heard some version of the following request: “While you’re here, can you fix or help me with…?”

As a dutiful son or daughter, you naturally oblige these requests but for many elderly homeowners, home maintenance problems don’t get repaired in a timely manner--and over a short period of time, these problems can quickly escalate. Many of these repair issues, if not appropriately managed, will ultimately cause an unsafe environment and threaten the integrity of the house. Is there a solution?

Fortunately, there are several organizations that are geared to specifically handle this type of situation. For example, organizations such as the Community Housing Resource Center in Atlanta, GA partnering with the Adopt-A-Grandparent Program have representatives that will visit a home and assess the need for repairs to make the house safe and livable. After the initial assessment, assistance with repairs and maintenance continues on a regular basis. There are many organizations like these as well as senior care service organizations that can help you arrange for regularly scheduled maintenance of your elder’s residence.

Home Modifications

One of the simplest modifications involves creating a “barrier-free” home. According to Santa Clara Signal staff writer, Anne Marie Mills in her article, “Is Your Home Safe?” what this means is that the home has no barriers prohibiting people with disabilities to freely navigate the home. For example, a person in a wheelchair needs to have door opening sizes increased from the basic 29 inch to 30 inch width to as much as 36 inches to 42 inches. Carpets need to be commercial-contract carpet similar to the type used in banks and office buildings, rather than the traditionally thicker home carpets so that a person in a wheelchair or using a walker will have no problem walking on them.

In addition, there are three other key areas of focus for modifying your home for your elder--lighting, the bathrooms and home furnishings. Specifically, the WebMD Medical Reference in collaboration with The Cleveland Clinic cites the following points in the article, ‘Creating a Safer Environment for Alzheimer’s Patients”:

  • Bathroom: It may become necessary to install grab bars in the shower or fold-down shower seats. Also, be sure to use non-slip floor mats and slip-resistant tiles in the shower or tub.
  • Furniture: Simplify furniture arrangements to make navigating the room as easy as possible. For example, move or remove objects, such as loose throw rugs, or large obstacles, such as coffee tables, large chairs, and lamps that could be a tripping hazard.
  • Lighting: Be sure there is sufficient lighting. As people get older, they require two to three times more light than what they needed when they were younger. However, too much light, especially when it causes glare, can be distracting and irritating.

In addition to the above-mentioned safety measures, there are other basic, common sense measures you can take like making sure the smoke detector works properly, avoiding the use of space heaters, having emergency phone numbers readily available and installing a medical alert or alarm system in the home. The more things you can do to ensure the safety of your elder loved one, the easier it will be to help manage their care and allow them the freedom to continue to live a life of independence for as long as possible.