Home Safety Checklist for Seniors and Adults with Disabilities

Having an elderly loved one at home with disabilities or mobility issues requires adjustments and modifications to your home to help keep them safe. Often, the adjustments are minor, such as clearing away slippery rugs and improving lighting. Sometimes you need larger modifications, like installing a wheelchair ramp. Small and large modifications can help give your senior with disabilities a sense of independence.

While these adjustments are essential while your loved one is at home, they may need supervised care during the day. As an option to home health care, consider bringing your elderly loved one to one of St. Elizabeth's Adult Day Care Centers in the St. Louis, Missouri, area.

We offer nutritious meals, activities, medication management, and guest speakers to help keep your loved one engaged in a safe and supportive environment during the day. Learn more about our recommended senior safety tips and ways to modify your home for seniors with disabilities.

Understanding Fall Risks in the Home

Falls are one of the most serious events that can happen to an elderly person. Millions of elderly people fall each year, which often results in some type of injury. These injuries, from broken wrists to fractured hips, result in emergency room visits, often with hospital stays. Some hip fractures can result in death.

One of the key things a caregiver can do for fall prevention for the elderly is to create a safe space in the home and remove obstacles that may make your elderly loved one trip and fall. Several reasons that may make an elder fall include:

• Poor footwear

• Uneven steps

• Throw rugs

• Clutter on the floor

• Mobility aids

• Medications

• Blood pressure issues

  
  

Removing obstacles, ensuring proper footwear, and managing medications can help prevent or reduce the risks of falling.

Bathroom Safety Modifications

Bathrooms are essential for hygiene, yet they can pose threats. Many bathrooms have floor tiles that can become slippery after a shower or bath, and visibility can decrease from steam and humidity. The small spaces and tight corners found in most bathrooms can make maneuvering difficult, especially with a walker or a wheelchair.

Senior home safety tips for bathroom modifications include:

• Support and grab bars: Place these near the toilet, in the shower or tub, and near doorways. Be sure they are installed securely with rubber grips for optimum efficiency

• Walk-in bathtub and mobility aid-friendly showers: Installing a walk-in bathtub with seating helps seniors enjoy the comfort of a warm bath without them having to step over the rim to get in.

• Anti-slip flooring: Wet floors are one of the main causes of falls in the bathroom. Non-slip flooring has textured coatings that help prevent slipping. In addition, be sure to have anti-slip pads in the shower and bathtub.

• Accessible and smart toilets: These types of toilets help maintain hygiene, independence, and dignity for adults with disabilities. Automatic flush systems, built-in washing and drying functions, and heated seats make using the toilet easier.

  
  

Creating Clear Walkways and Removing Clutter

Seniors with mobility aids or disabilities need extra room to maneuver throughout their home. Ensure that furniture or home decorations, like large potted plants or art, are not blocking the pathway. In addition, replace throw rugs with non-slip flooring in hallways, bedrooms, and living areas. Keep kitchen counters and the table free from unnecessary items so your elderly loved one can easily find what they need. Organize the kitchen and bathroom so anyone can find their toiletries, medicines, and cooking utensils.

Improving Lighting Throughout the Home

Improving lighting in your home helps with healthy aging in place, helping provide independent living. As falls are a high risk for the elderly, improved lighting can help reduce that risk. Vision and depth perception diminish with age, making it easy to misjudge a step or the distance to the couch, bed, chair, or toilet. Key considerations for senior lighting include:

• Uniform lighting: Try to avoid transitions of light from room to room.

• Focused lights: Have high-intensity lamps in areas where a senior may perform a task, like preparing food, reading, an activity, and while grooming.

• Smart lighting: Lights that come on and adjust automatically can help a senior control the lighting levels without having to frequently get up and down.

• Nighttime illumination: Have walkways, halls, bedrooms, and the bathroom illuminated for nighttime walks to essential areas.

  
  

Mobility Friendly Home Safety Adjustments

Accessible home modifications often require skilled professionals. The home may need a wheelchair ramp, wider doors, or walls removed to accommodate a wheelchair. In some instances, the home may need a platform or stair lift installed. When making bathroom modifications, be sure to include level shower access so a wheelchair can be rolled in or a senior can enter easily with a mobility aid.

Countertops in the kitchen and bathroom may need height adjustments, and appliances like a microwave or toaster may need to be at a lower level for easy reach. As part of St. Elizabeth's Day Care Center services, we can help connect you with a professional assessor to come to your home for a home safety assessment for tips on creating a safe environment.

Medication Management and Emergency Planning

Many seniors take multiple medications, and it's essential to keep them organized and readily accessible. Maintain a list of all the medications the person takes and where they are located in case there's an emergency, and someone needs to grab them.

Communication is key during an emergency. Keep a list of contacts, use smartphone apps for easy reference, and always keep a bag packed with your seniors' essentials in case of an evacuation or emergency.

Building a Safer Tomorrow for Your Loved One

Ensuring your elderly loved one with disabilities can live a rewarding life at home with some independence requires some modifications and adjustments. Having a senior cared for in a safe and supportive environment during the day not only gives you, as the caregiver, a break, but also gives your loved one a social environment. Contact Saint Elizabeth's Day Care Center to learn about our services for seniors and adults with disabilities and our locations.

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