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How To Prepare Your Home For An Elderly Loved One

All across Canada – and the world, for that matter – there are adults who have to make major adjustments to their lives by preparing to live with their parents again. In many cases, this new living arrangement takes place after one parent passes away. In many other cases, the new cohabitation is a result of a major illness or injury that causes the elderly loved one to require constant care.

No matter the reason, the re-establishing of the home’s inhabitants is often a major undertaking. This isn’t just because families need to get used to having one extra member take up space in the home. But elderly individuals who require daily assistance with living need to have their safety placed as a top priority.

What minor modifications can ensure that elderly individuals are safe in their homes?

As you may have guessed, some modifications are often necessary. And they depend, of course, on the mobility issues had by the elderly loved one. Minor modifications include the installation of grab bars in the bathroom. This helps for those who have issues with balance to remain steady on their feet.

While the installation of grab bars may seem like a small change, they have huge implications. As the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation explains, bathroom-related falls make up a large amount of the injuries that take place in Canada.

“A recent study found that 55% of all bathroom-related falls were associated with bathing and that unsuccessful transfers played a role in as many as 70% of bath falls,” reports their website, “In addition, 73% of all bath falls resulted in mild to severe bruising, pain, and fractures. Fear of falling while bathing was also found to be high and was associated, for 30% of the sample for this study, with restrictions in bathing practices. Fear of falling has also been reported in other studies.”

What major modifications can ensure that elderly individuals are safe in their homes?

In the event that your elderly loved one is a wheelchair user, you may have to widen particular walkways of the home. “Wheelchairs require a minimum of 32 inches — 36 inches is recommended,” informs Mard Numan on Caring.com, “Hallways should be at least 36 inches wide. If possible, there should be extra floor space so a wheelchair can turn around. It takes about 60 inches of space for someone in a wheelchair to make a 180-degree turn.”

And then, of course, there’s the matter of the stairs. If you don’t live in a one-level home, making it safe for your elderly loved one to get up and down the stairs is of paramount importance. Stair lifts are proven safety solutions. These motorized chairs make it safe and easy to access multiple floors in your home, completely eliminating the need to deal with steps.

How can Advantage Home Health Solutions help you to prepare your home for your elderly loved one?

At Advantage Home Health Solutions, we offer stair lifts that work with either straight or curved staircases. In addition, we have a wide array of bedroom and bathroom accessibility devices that have proven to make homes much safer for seniors.

For more information about the various mobility solutions offered by Advantage Home Health Solutions, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 403-460-5438. You may also email us by filling out the form on our Contact Us page!

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