Help with a Home Safety AuditIt’s a well-known fact that more accidents occur at home than anywhere else. When it comes to seniors, the numbers are even higher. Statistics show that falls are the cause of 70 percent of accidental deaths to people over the age of 75 and 40 percent of all nursing home admissions. Sadly, some twenty-five percent of seniors who fall and suffer hip fractures die within a year.
These statistics are frightening but it’s not just the falls themselves that impact seniors. It’s the fear of falling itself. When a friend or family member falls and is injured or put into a nursing home, seniors are afraid it will happen to them too. Before long, they give up their daily walks and social activities, making them even less mobile and more isolated.
One way to prevent falls is to arrange for a professional home safety audit. The audit will identify areas of concern and offer recommendations. Happier At Home provides this service for free.
Take a look around the house the next time you visit. Check to see that rugs are wrinkle-free and edges are firmly tacked in place. If there are area rugs, make sure there are no-slip pads beneath them.
Inspect the bathrooms. Do the tubs and showers have no slip-mats, decals and safety bars? Are hand-held electrical appliances located too close to the sinks or tubs? What about lighting around the staircases and porches and in the bathrooms and kitchen? Are the bulbs the correct wattage for the fixtures? If the lighting is poor, help locate a handyman who can take care of the job. There are non-profit home repair organizations in many cities that charge seniors low fees for home improvements. Some home safety solutions are remarkably easy. Pick up clutter. Install new batteries in smoke detectors. Hire neighborhood kids to shovel the walks. Think about safety measures in your own home and you’ll come up with dozens of ways you can help. Just remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.