If there’s any place where we should feel secure, it would be our homes. Yet, even if we live in a safe neighborhood with flood lighting and house alarms, there is still something that we’re all at risk of and that’s falling.

This is especially of great concern to our elders because as we get older, our bones become more fragile which makes a bone brake or even an ankle sprain, for them, more than a little inconvenient. It could actually be potentially devastating. So, when it comes to securing senior safety to prevent falls both in and around your home, here are some tips to keep mind.

Image via: 7001 Spring  Ville Court

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Watch the floor’s surfaces.

If your home flooring basically consists of hard wood and tile, that can be aesthetically attractive, but also a big fall risk for seniors. Be sure to have a couple of floor mats around, especially in the entrances of your front and back doors so that if they have wet or slippery soles, they can gain wipe off their feet before walking around the house. However, when it comes to throw rugs, studies show that more people fall with rugs than without with them, so you may want to consider rolling those up in places where an older person may be moving about.

Keep the lights on.

Night lights are not something that has an age demographic on its packaging. At nighttime, be sure to have them on in hallways, kitchens and bathrooms so that if the senior in your life needs to use the bathroom in the middle of the night or wants a drink of water, they can clearly navigate from room to room. Also be sure to have some motion-censored lighting outdoors so that they can see porch or deck steps and any holes in the yard that may be difficult to see at dusk or dawn.

Secure your bathroom.

When it comes to leg and hip fractures, many of them happen while in taking a bath or shower. This is because, understandably, when the water is running, the bathroom is a slippery place and oftentimes there are not things around to help people maintain their grip. For a senior’s sake, purchase a grab rail for inside the shower and place a rubber mat on the floor outside of it. You might want to also get some flip-flops for them to wear while inside of the tub (if they’re standing) for some additional traction.

Proper footwear.

It would be a shame for someone to hire an ICBC lawyer due to an injury that could have been avoided simply by purchasing the right kinds of shoes. One of the best ways to ensure a senior’s safety is to not only make sure that their shoes fit well, but that they are also non-skid and without thick soles. The best ones are probably the lace-up kind, but definitely make sure to avoid purchasing a lot of slip-ons or heels. Also be sure to check the surfaces of them daily for signs of rocks, gum or mud that could have been accumulated throughout the day; that’s definitely another potential way to throw someone off balance.

Image via: The Enchanted Home.Blogspot

Be pet aware.

Basically, if it’s not a pet that’s in a cage, it has the potential to do some pretty unpredictable things. Cats tend to jump on various surfaces and even the best-trained dog can get excited and run from one room to another without notice. When a senior is moving throughout the home, it’s a good idea to either keep your pet in an area of the house where they are not or to let them play outdoors for a while. Once everyone is stationery for a period, then your pet can come in and hang out with everyone. Remember, a safe environment provides the opportunity for a fun one for all.

For more home safety tips on Stagetecture, click here.

When considering an elderly parent who wishes to remain in their home for as long as possible, or any person with mobility issues, it’s important to understand two key concepts –

• Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)

• Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs)

Activities of daily living are skills that an individual must be able to perform if they are to live independently, and safely.

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Instrumental activities of daily living are skills which are important, but not necessarily essential for an individual to live independently, as there are often services such as home care which can provide the additional required support.

The process of home modification involves making changes and adapting a home so that a person with limitations can perform their ADLs as safely as possible while maintaining a level of comfort which they are accustomed to, and an acceptable degree of independence. The modifications can range from quite simple – such as removing area rugs to prevent falls – to more complex – such as researching options like stairlifts and stairlifts prices, or elevators and elevators prices, or having a specialized consultant come into the home to map out an individual plan of action to make the environment as safe, and functional as possible. The type of modifications will depend, of course, on the person and their specific issues, along with the current physical layout/setup of the home. Investing in the necessary modifications can be very worthwhile, as in many cases the need for institutional care can be significantly delayed, or sometimes even eliminated.

Considerations

Home modifications can help people with disabilities maintain their independence and remain in their home for as long as possible. Modifications are suitable for those who have some degree of mobility and who do not require extensive medical care. Modifications can range from inexpensive to a considerable investment, but, even at the more expensive end of the spectrum, they are almost always a great savings over longterm care.

Specialists who evaluate individuals and their home environments tend to use two lists, based on the key concepts covered above. When consulting against the ADLS list, if there are problems with any of the following, the need for outside assistance and support is considered to be critical:

• Ability to get in and out of bed
• Preparing meals and/or eating independently
• Maintaining Continence
• Bathing and Dressing

When consulting the IADLs list, it can be quite a bit more difficult to determine if an individual has issues unless they are observed on a daily basis. Problems with the following indicate the need for support:

• Doing the shopping
• Performing housekeeping duties
• Using the telephone
• Accessing transportation
• Taking medications properly
• Managing finances

It’s also important to take note of the following areas of the home which are considered problematic, and almost always require changes of some sort:

• Stairways and steps
• Kitchens
• Bathrooms
• Exits, walkways, driveways
• Basements and cellars

After reviewing the specific needs of the individual with disabilities, and the considerations which are present inside their home, you may wish to make the necessary home modifications in order to allow them to remain in their home environment and maintain their independence for as long as possible. Best of luck to you!

This guest post was written by Spencer McKinney for Stairliftadvisor.co.uk, who invite you to visit their website for curved stair lift prices as well as other useful information.”

For more seniors and aging adult topics on Stagetecture, click here.

Happy DIY Saturday! Over the past years the need for homeowners to adapt their homes for the elderly has become commonplace. Whether it’s adapt a home for a family member, or to make your home safer and easier to get around.  Universal design, ADA guidelines, and safety for the elderly are important, especially in the bathroom of your home.

Image courtesy of Safety within Reach

Today, my Guest Blogger gives tips for adapting your bathroom for safety for the aging and watch a You Tube video on how to make the bathroom safe for the elderly in your bathroom.

You Tube Video – How to Make the Bathroom Safer for your Elderly Parent

Guest Blogger – Safety for Seniors in the Bathroom

As we get older, places in our homes that previous seemed harmless can become increasingly challenging to negotiate. Muscular weakness, back stiffness and slower reflexes can result in damaging falls in any room of the house. Some statistics suggest that every year, at least one three people over the age of 65 have a fall. True, not all of these mishaps result in anything more than wounded feelings and small bruises, but how well you come off is often down to chance.

Among all the rooms in the house, the most dangerous is probably the bathroom. But we still need to bathe and if we are to remain in our own homes and retain a level of personal autonomy, we need to be able to use the bathroom as well as we have ever done. Nevertheless, we should never be afraid to ask for help in making these changes to our home: many installations require proper installation to ensure our safety!

Basics

Water is clearly a hazard, and when mixed with whatever soaps and cleaning chemicals we have, things can get extra slippery. It is recommended to have relatively new bathmats wherever there is an appliance: next to bath-tubs, shower enclosures, basins and toilets. Opt for mats with a decent non-skid underside, and don’t hesitate to replace these when the coating fails after years of washing.

Image courtesy of QA Home Products

Installing a Rail

It is not uncommon for older people to hold onto something when entering or exiting the bath. In fact, most of us have fixtures and fittings that can be used for support in the general vicinity, and this is where the danger lies. Towel racks, shelving and other fixtures are not built to withstand the strength and weight of a person pulling themselves into place. And it’s the falls that we never see coming that hurt us the most.

Rails can be purchased at most bathroom suppliers, but should always be installed according to the manufacturer’s instructions to ensure that they have been installed correctly. Rails are useful for baths and toilets. U-shaped, horizontal, vertical and diagonal bars help you in and out of baths and toilets of varying heights and positions. Where a bath rail can even be placed should be done having consulted a professional, since many things must be considered when finding somewhere that is comfortable and safe to place the rail.

Toilet Seat Height

It can also be beneficial to alter toilet seat height, sometimes by as much as 5-7 inches. Wall-hung toilets can achieve this greater height, but it may suit your household arrangements to have a removable seat. There are also permanent seat options if you’re don’t want to invest in a new toilet.

Image courtesy of Senug

Walk In Bathtubs

Baths are actually incredibly un-ergonomic when you think about it: you must first hurdle over the side and then you have to lower yourself down into the tub to begin bathing. Easy enough when you’re young, but when backpain starts up and your joints aren’t quite as easy to shift as they once were, the bathtub can become a rather daunting prospect. Showers provide something of an answer, but it’s all too easy to find yourself having to reach around on the floor for a dropped sponge.

Walk in bathtubs are a fairly straightforward answer, providing an easy-swing door that seals when the taps come on. Many models also provide seats for easy-seated bathing!

This article was written on behalf of Splash Direct by Steph Wood. Splash can provide many of the above fixtures as well as Bath Screens and other accessories.

For more kitchen & bath ideas on Stagetecture, click here.

In a past blog post we explored the idea of downsizing from the family home.  Family of the elderly have to think about lifestyle changes, and so do the people who interact with them.  Having your home comfortable and safe for the Aging, is a concept that we don’t consider enough.

Last week, Guest Blogger, Alesha E. Churba of A.E.Churba Design: Simple and Divine Interior Design, gave us ideas for enticing buyers through their senses when home staging. Today, she explains how making your home safe and comfortable for aging individuals is becoming more mainstream, and important.

Aging in Place takes into account the safety and comfort of everyone living or visiting your home. This does not

necessarily mean that you have to be a senior yourself. It could be that you have a friend who comes by and you would like your home to be visitable. Maybe you have an aging parent that sometimes visits or an aging relative is going to live in the space with you. Or, perhaps you have become limited physically in some way and you need to make your home more comfortable and livable. All of these reasons and just wanting to prepare for your future are reasons to consider design with Aging in Place principles.

Universal Design:

Aging in Place is an important subject just coming to the forefront of the design and construction industries. Aging in Place is related to Universal Design because it is about adapting your home so that it is accessible and functional to everyone who lives or visits there. Universal Design brings to mind the notion of grab bars and funky, big bathroom stalls but that is just a small part of Universal Design. Universal Design is the idea of making

a space as accessible (read easily navigated, intuitive, and easy to figure out) as possible for everyone. The idea of Aging In Place takes this notion and makes it even more personalized to the users of the space, in other words, making your home work for you and your needs.

You have probably noticed that our population is aging: Baby Boomers (born between 1947 and 1964) are entering the stages in their lives where they are considering the future: their future and even their parent’s futures. Maybe you are a Baby Boomer who is becoming your parents caretaker or you are just looking ahead to prepare your home so that you can retire in your home comfortably and safely.

Basic guidelines for evaluation:

Aging in Place takes the concept of comfort and safety into consideration and provides basic guidelines. It should be noted that your living situation is unique to you and can not be evaluated just from this article. There are a few things you can consider as basic design considerations when looking to either re-design your current living situation or evaluate your new living situation.

Some things to look for or consider when evaluating your home for safety and comfort include:

• At least one entrance that is on the level (no steps to navigate).
• The entrance door that will be used should be at least three feet wide.
• The hallways to the main areas like the kitchen, living, bathroom and bedroom areas should be at least three feet wide.
• There should be ample lighting or the ability to add extra lighting in the hallways, kitchen, bathrooms, and living areas.
• A master bedroom and bathroom on the main floor is a great idea or the ability to add one in the future if circumstances require it.

Thinking ahead is your key. Have a plan that will be helpful to everyone of all ages and stages. The more accommodating you make your home, the more comfortable it will be when you are older. Consider the livability and visitability of your home for incorporation in any remodel plans and you will benefit from increased comfort, safety and salability of your home.

TheAARP site has a link to locate a Certified Aging in Place Specialist (CAPS) who can help you specifically with your own home design recommendations. Each family has unique needs and situations that can be evaluated. Those trained in this particular area have extensive knowledge that can help you with your needs. Not all recommendations and Aging In Place modifications require extensive remodeling. Remember that Aging In Place is really about making your home safe and comfortable for you and everyone in your home.

Alesha E. Churba recently completed the CAPS Training and is the only Allied Member ASID (American Society of Interior Designers) with experience in Residential and Commercial Interior Design and Decorating in Southeast Idaho. Her business niche is primarily designing and decorating with her clients futures in mind- i.e. aging in place, color story investment, and designing for the long term safety and comfort of her clients.

For more home solutions ideas on Stagetecture, click here.