Senior Home Safety Tips

Here are a few tips for making the home safer for seniors. I was able to implement these modifications myself at relatively low cost. There are many other things you can do, but as the caretaker for my mother, I can speak of these particular items personally. Your needs may differ.

^{Photo courtesy of pixabay.com}

Avoiding Falls:
While falling at any age is best avoided, for the elderly, the consequences are potentially life altering.

• Install grab bars
  Areas of importance are near the toilet, ingress/egress of shower, and step-ups or step-downs. Make sure grab bars are securely installed.

^{Photo courtesy of Moen.}

• Provide clear paths of travel. I.e., remove clutter from the floor, area rugs, cords, and other things that can be tripped over.
• Provide night or motion sensor lights to illuminate walking paths.
• Avoid stairs if possible or consider ways of reducing the number of times they must be traversed. I imagine a lift is a costly option.

Widen Doorways:
If you can widen a doorway so a wheelchair or walker can get through, it can save you and your family member a great deal of physical exertion. I was able to widen my bathroom doorframes just enough to accomplish this. Make sure to study the structure of the frame before deciding if you need a professional or not. I had to relocate a light switch.
What may help:

• Changing door type. I installed an accordion door for one bathroom since the sliding door couldn’t be widened.
• Use offset swing-out hinges to gain a little more clearance. These allow a door to swing open clear of the frame.

^{Photo courtesy of Stone Harbor and Spectrum.}

More Bath Safety with a Transfer Chair:
If you can afford to put in an accessible shower, do it. I am considering modifying our tub to a walk-in as a less expensive option. In the meantime, a shower transfer bench has been a great help for relatively little cost. Some seats even slide along the bench frame for easier ingress and egress of the tub.

^{Photo courtesy of Invacare.}
Low cost supplemental bath necessities:

• Non-slip shower mat
• Handheld showerhead with pause setting

Kitchen Safety - Turn Off the Stove:
I only mentioned this since my mother liked to cook and still wants to on occasion. Except with her diminished capacity, I decided it was best if she didn’t burn the house down with me in it. So I turn the stove off at the fuse box.

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