Discover essential tips and modifications to create a safe environment for senior loved ones at home. Learn how to improve their safety.
Updated Jan 31, 2024
With more and more Americans opting to age at home, and a growing percentage of older adults making up the U.S. population, home safety for seniors is a booming market.1,2 Luckily for older individuals and their families, there’s been a continuous development of technological tools and gadgets designed to help keep them safe and connected to the outside world.
With so many options out there to help prepare older parents to move in or assist in updating your parents’ home, it can be hard to decipher which products are necessary from those that offer expensive “nice to have” features that you may not need.
So, let’s start with some basic recommendations on how to improve home safety for seniors.
We can’t ensure our loved ones are always safe and out of harm's way. However, what we can do is create a safe living environment that is designed to minimize the risk of injury while preserving our parents’ dignity.
One of the ways to best understand these injury risks is by looking at the statistics on falls –– in particular, preventable falls. In the senior population3:
Of the CDC’s top seven fall hazards for seniors, six are health-related. But one factor –– home hazards –– can be reduced with proper aging-in-place and fall prevention modifications.4 By understanding the most common types of falls and how they occur, you can better design a space that’s safe for your parent now and as they continue to age.
Another way to incorporate safety measures is by updating your home to include elements similar to those found in an assisted living facility. Adopting universal design principles –– making elements like faucets, cabinets, handles, and other frequently used touchpoints accessible to a broad spectrum of users –– can limit the need for further accommodations while reducing the risk of injury. But there are other ways to bring assisted living convenience and safety to the home. Consider:
Most home safety measures for elderly adults are fairly common across homes of all sizes, styles, and locations. Some of these may not be issues in a smart home complete with integrated devices for improved accessibility or a universal design–oriented build, but otherwise, look out for:
The layout, fixtures, and items in our surroundings, as well as how we interact with and utilize them, can vary significantly as we age. As a result, certain adjustments to your home may come with a higher price tag than others. Similar to any home improvement project, there's no fixed limit on the potential expenditure, making it important to consider the unique aspects of each modification while keeping in mind the possibility of varying costs.
To give you a better idea of the cost of caring for elderly parents, Americans spend an average of $9,500 to outfit a home for aging in place. However, you can accomplish a lot with some of the low- and no-cost home safety tips discussed below.5
Not every home modification for aging has to be a high-ticket item. While there are many low-cost modifications to consider, let’s start with simply encouraging certain practices and habits that will boost home safety. These can include:
If you’re starting with a split-entry home, stairs are definitely your first structural challenge. A top priority for home safety for seniors is eliminating the need to climb stairs or encounter steps, both inside and outside of the house. This can be done with:
If you’re not ready to commit to single-level living in your home yet, then consider:
Take a practice run through the house using a walker or wheelchair to help identify walkway issues. You may need to:
Begin by thoroughly assessing all the surfaces beneath your feet. Aim to remove any slippery spots or items that might shift or snag on shuffling feet, and ensure smooth transitions between different rooms or flooring types. Possible solutions may require:
As time goes by, even the simplest movements and transitions can become a bit more challenging. Think of these elements like a staircase handrail in your twenties –– you may not always use or need it, but having it in place is crucial for those moments when you do:
Aging is a part of life, and you may not have the same strength or fine motor skills as you did when you were in your 20s. If lifting heavy boxes or bending over for kitchen appliances is getting harder for you or an aging parent, consider adjusting your living space to make daily tasks easier.
Modifications that can help with accessibility include:
When it comes to your vision, clarity and brightness can both diminish over time, so adequate lighting is essential. You can help reduce falls and frustration with:
Heat- and fire-related hazards are important to watch out for regardless of the age of a home’s occupants, but they’re particularly critical if memory or sensation issues are involved. Consider6:
Medical alert systems such as wearable devices have been around for decades, but today, there are more options than ever for utilizing smart devices and connecting technology to help older adults age at home safely.
These include:
It can be difficult to assess a familiar environment for safety –– we all become used to the quirks, clutter, and workarounds we’ve grown to live with. Although you can certainly perform a room-by-room analysis with a checklist in hand, don’t hesitate to engage professionals if you need to. There are many options to make caring for aging parents easier, such as:
Not every modification is going to work for every home or person. Do your research, discuss, and work together to give new practices and devices a fair trial run. Add a note to the calendar to check in on how the latest change is working and decide whether more instructions, practice, or adaptations are needed.
Aging at home is a goal for many seniors, but it requires planning, changes to a home environment, and learning how to navigate these changes. Fortunately, Truehold can support this process.
Truehold's sell and stay transaction combines a streamlined property sale with a lease so that you can remain as a renter in your home. This can help in a few key ways. First, it frees up your home equity to help fund safety modifications, in-home assistance, and accessible retirement assets. Second, with Truehold as a partner, you’ll no longer be responsible for property insurance, property tax, or essential repairs.
If you’re ready to find out more, visit us online or call (314) 353-9757. You’ll be contacted by a Truehold representative who can review the process and answer your questions to see if Truehold will benefit your financial picture and goals.
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