How to Make a Home Easy to Live In for Seniors

As people age, some changes may need to be made around the house. There are many things you can do to make a home safer and more comfortable for the seniors in your life, and to help them live independently for as long as possible.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Stair Handrails
• Amplified Telephones
• Pocket Alarms
• Smoke Detectors
• Smoke Detectors
• Bed Rail

1. Make the home as safe and secure as possible. Deal with loose carpet on stairs, wires that could trip someone, or anything else that could pose a safety hazard. Also check batteries on smoke detectors, burglar alarms and any other electronic safety devices in the home.

2. Install smoke alarms and motion detectors with lights as well as sounds if the seniors in the home have hearing problems. You can also purchase telephones that amplify sound.

3. Make sure that all medications are clearly labeled with large lettering, and that they are stored in a central, easily accessible location.

4. Program emergency numbers into the phone, or post a list of emergency numbers near each telephone, and make sure that the phone keypad has large buttons easily visible to someone with less-than-perfect eyesight.

5. Install comfort and safety devices in the bathroom, including non-slip tub mats, safety rails, shower seats and non-skid rugs.

6. Re-arrange the kitchen so that everything is reachable and seniors have no need to stand on chairs to reach into cupboards. Provide a sturdy step-stool if any reaching is necessary.

7. Install nightlights in bedrooms and hallways to lessen the possibility that someone will trip or fall in the dark.

8. Add chair-lifts, stair-lifts, or adjustable beds to the home when it becomes necessary.

9. Visit a medical equipment supplier and ask about services and devices that make life easier and more comfortable for seniors.

Tips & Warnings

• It's a good idea to install as many phones as possible in the home so that seniors don't have to rush from one room to another to answer calls.
• If seniors are wheelchair-bound or partially immobilized, you may need to make some changes. Try wheeling yourself around the house (preferably in both light and darkness) to check for obstacles.
• If anyone in the home has a tendency to leave appliances turned on or plugged in, be sure to invest in items that will turn themselves off automatically, or post bright, highlighted reminder notes in appropriate locations.
• You may need to replace child-proof caps on some medications with twist or snap-off caps as long as there are no children living in the home ' it can sometimes be difficult for older hands to open child-proof bottles, and a few moments can make a lot of difference in a medical emergency.

[kristi71]

on 6/20/2008 Another option you have with caring for your parents is ResponseLINK Emergency Medical Alert System. They provide 24 hour assurance that if your parents need help, it is only seconds away with a push of a button. They also keep all of your emergency contacts at hand so that means no more lost contact numbers. They call the contacts you choose in the order you specify. You can also have the peace of mind that your parents are reminded to take their medications and that they are reminded to have their meals at a certain time if that is a concern as well. When I checked into it for my own parents, I found that it was easily affordable, and was easy to get set up with a subscription without a long term contract

[afterhours]

on 6/19/2007 Some other tips would be to equip the small stairs in the home with threshold ramps which work well for wheelchairs and walking. You could even go as far as using cable ramps as seen at http://www.discountramps.com to cover up and loose wires/chords from being trip hazards. Also, as mentioned above lifts work great in houses and there is a lift for almost anything. You can even find bath lifts if you wanted.

on 11/22/2005 Rather than phoning and having to always make conversation, my neighbour and I leave our door lights on at night for security and have arranged that each will call to see if the other is OK if it hasn't been turned off by a specified time in the morning.