Moving out and being taken care of elsewhere is not always someone’s first choice when aging in place. Spending time with the family has its merits, but ensuring that it doesn’t come with added risks is essential when caring for your loved ones. These useful home modifications for older people in your family serve as a guide to protect your home and prevent unwanted accidents where you least expect them.
Keep It Easy to Reach
Often, reaching for different appliances or tools gets tricky for seniors. Ensure that the most used items in your home are easy to get to without the aid of a stool or the need to reach. This decreases the odds of slipping or falling in the kitchen. This is not exclusive to one room; things like soap in bathrooms or paper towel rolls in the kitchen should all be in easy-to-reach cabinets or drawers to keep the process simple and safe.
Transform a Room
By changing the living areas in your home a little bit, you can keep your older family members safe. If you can, try giving your older family member a room on the first floor. The less walking up and down the stairs that they need to do, the better. However, if it is not possible to avoid it, consider safeguarding your stairs with stair treads to increase the footing on each step and prevent possible trips or slips when using them. These serve to benefit everyone else in your home as well.
Use Intercoms
Consider installing a wireless voice-activated device in your home to communicate freely and without confusion. Cell phones can take time to use properly for someone who isn’t used to operating them. Because of this, using a voice-activated intercom or smart home technology enables quick and easy communication should it be necessary. easy communication should it be necessary. Considering vision insurance for your loved one can also help aid and improve their quality of life, which can in turn improve cell phone use to minimize the use of intercoms. These are helpful when you need to notify the family for dinner or just check up on someone’s well-being.
Provide an Alert System
Among the many useful home modifications for older people in your family you can make, a medical alert system is the most important out of them all. Having a medical alert system on hand at all times aids significantly in ensuring your loved ones get the help they need immediately should an accident occur. By keeping this on hand and in the rooms they use most, you can tend to your duties or tasks without worrying about leaving them alone.
There are many reasons to consider home health care, and being able to stay connected with your family is one of them. Reminding them how much you care by keeping their surroundings as safe as possible provides a feeling of safety and love. Many aspects of life change over the course of these years, but the one constant always remains: the genuine care a family shares.