Home safety is critical to leading a happy and healthy life. Sometimes, as we get older, it can become more challenging to keep up with daily tasks around the house. Cleaning, laundry, and minor home repairs that once used to be simple now take more time and effort.
With a growing number of adults living at home independently, it is critical to make sure they are safe at home. Families and seniors need to follow home safety precautions to prevent injuries, reduce the risk of falls, and ensure their loved ones’ independence.
Home Preparedness For Families and Seniors
We’ve compiled a checklist that can help you see how safe your loved one’s home is. These steps, combined with in-home care services, can help seniors age in the comfort of their homes.
- Remove Tripping Hazards
Consider removing or stabilizing area rugs, low tables, ottomans, and electrical cords—all of these are falling hazards. If a pet or small child is living in the home with the senior, keep toys off the ground. To improve safety, you can install non-slip flooring and make sure all cords and wires are concealed.
- Check Thresholds
Entering and exiting a home or room should be simple. Raised flooring or steps between rooms can be a significant tripping hazard. A safety expert can help you flatten thresholds or add ramps and handrails.
- Check Outdoors
How are the pathways in and out of the home? Make sure your loved one can easily get to the mailbox. Be sure to fill any large cracks in the sidewalk and drive and remove tripping hazards like branches, rocks, wet leaves, or snow from walkways.
- Install Grab Bars
The majority of falls occur in the home, and the bathroom is one of the most common places. Grab bars can be found at your local hardware store, and you can install them or get a safety expert to help you.
- Consider Medical Alert Devices
An alert system is a great way to know your loved one can easily access help at a moment’s notice.
- Check Lighting
Older adults can have more difficulty seeing in low light. To improve visibility in the home, you should replace any burnt-out bulbs, install new motion-sensitive light fixtures, and add highlights to darker home areas.
- Clear Trash and Clutter
Make sure all pathways around the home are clear and easy to navigate. Excess items can create tripping or fire hazards. It can be challenging for seniors to move heavier objects, so make sure items like large trash bags are taken out of the home.
- Keep Emergency Numbers Ready
If an accident occurs, can your loved one quickly call for help? Make sure your older loved one has a usable phone handy. There are models with straight-forward features and larger buttons and screens to make it easier for older adults to use. Check that it is easy for your loved one to make calls and have emergency numbers handy.
Download our infographic to share these handy tips.
Benefits of In-Home Care Services Assisting with Home Safety
In-home care services can help keep seniors safe by providing home safety inspections. An initial assessment is an essential first step. Experts in senior care can notice potential risks family members might not be aware of, especially if they live further away from their senior relatives.
A complete home inspection includes the following:
- An assessment of all critical zones in the house, including kitchens, bathrooms, staircases, porches, and front yard.
- A deep search for all existing fall hazards.
- A check for fire hazards and working alarm systems.
- Checking and creating a plan for any threshold or areas that need widening, stairlifts, ramps, or other accessibility additions.
- Accessing any clutter in the home and developing a plan to remove it.
- Checking if cabinets and drawers are accessible.
- Checking is if adequate lighting is available night and day.
At Westchester Family Care, we are experts in helping seniors and their families make a home livable again. Everyone was to age in a palace in a home that is comfortable and safe. By helping seniors improve their living conditions, we provide them with a safe home to age in place, their families with peace of mind, and our caregivers a healthy working environment.
We recently helped an elder client in a nearby adult living community return home. She wished to spend her remaining days in the home she shared with her parents, but unfortunately, the home wasn’t liveable. Our team got together, and with the aid of fellow professionals, we decluttered and provided light renovations to the home to make it a safe place to live.
-
- Before WFC’s Services.
-
- After WFC’s Services.
Keeping a home liveable is a group effort. Read our care story to learn more about how we helped our client.
If you are interested in having home access performed or want to know how Westchester Family Care can help you improve your older loved one’s living condition, contact us today.