How to Prepare a Senior's Home

When considering home modifications for senior safety, the Comfort Keepers^® Home Audit Form is a good place to start.

Home Modifications for Seniors

Even simple modifications like moving a couch a few feet can make a senior’s home safer and more convenient. Comfort Keepers^® has years of experience and can offer helpful guidance to the families of seniors, helping them assess a loved one’s home and recommending ways to make the home safe and accommodating for senior living.

Simple Home Renovations for Seniors

Potential hazards:

• Clutter
• Obstructed pathways
• Throw rugs
• Upstairs bedrooms

By making these simple home modifications, you can easily make a much safer home for your senior loved-one and reduce the risk of falls and other accidents:

• Removing all clutter from walkways
• Rearranging furniture to create safe walkways
• Repairing loose floorboards and carpeting and getting rid of loose throw rugs
• Moving a bedroom downstairs

Advanced Home Renovations for Seniors

Potential hazards:

• Tubs and showers that lack grab bars
• Loose floorboards, especially in often-used areas
• Inadequate lighting

Comfort Keepers can suggest ways to:

• Improve lighting to compensate for seniors’ decreased sensitivity to light
• Install additional light switches at the top and bottom of stairs
• Installing a walk-in or roll-in shower
• Installing grab bars in bathtubs and showers
• Electrical upgrades to eliminate the need for dangerous extension cords

Click here to view Comfort Keepers’ Home Audit Form [1]and evaluate your senior loved-one’s home.

There are many senior safety resources available, which offer helpful ideas and solutions for making a senior’s home as safe as possible. Comfort Keepers recommends the Fall Prevention Center of Excellence at the University of Southern California’s Andrus Gerontology Center:  www.homemods.org [2], which lists resources for senior home modifications.

SafetyChoice^® Technology Solutions

Seniors living at home alone may face risks such as difficulty managing their medications or taking care of nutritional needs. Comfort Keepers can help seniors overcome these challenges, offering a full line of in-home safety devices that provide seniors and their loved ones an added level of security and peace of mind between caregiver visits.

SafetyChoice^® by Comfort Keepers safety solutions include:

• Medication management: helps assure that seniors take their medicine as prescribed
• Fall detectors: immediately alerting Comfort Keepers 24/7 Central Monitoring Service when a senior falls
• Personal Emergency Response System (PERS): enables seniors to immediately call for help at the press of a button in the event of a fall or accident
• Monitoring devices: PERS add-ons for additional safety and security, including smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, motion detectors, pressure-sensitive floor mats and door and window contacts. These help to provide home security and to monitor seniors with Dementia and Alzheimer’s

Find out more about SafetyChoice^® senior safety devices [3].

Other sources are available, too. The Fall Prevention Center of Excellence at the University of Southern California’s Andrus Gerontology Center, offers a website, www.homemods.org [2], which lists resources for senior home modifications.