A Safety Checklist for Your Senior

If your senior is still thriving while living independently inside their own home, you’ll want to make sure that this space is a safe place for them to reside. Even the most capable and mobile elderly people can encounter a problem due to seemingly innocuous safety hazards inside their own home. For proper senior health, elder care professionals recommend focusing on the following aspects:

• Put handrails into place on all steps, both inside of the home and on the outside
• Make sure carpets are laying down flat, as corners that stick up can become a tripping hazard. Consider taping rugs down with double-sided tape or carpet mesh
• Get rid of all unnecessary rugs
• Make sure that dresser drawers and cabinets are outfitted with handles that are easy to grasp
• Replace any burnt out light bulbs, making sure that the new bulbs don’t create a glare within the home
• Install night lights in the bathroom or kitchen, as well as in hallways that lead to these rooms
• Add reflective tape on non-carpeted stairs
• Place benches throughout the home to promote easy resting, while also making it effortless to quickly set down purchases
• Make sure closets are well lit
• Make sure the exterior of the home is well lit
• Double check that doors and windows have locks, and that these locks are in good working condition

It’s also important to make sure that your senior’s quality of life is high. To do this, ensure that the food in their refrigerator and pantry is healthy and has not gone bad. If your loved one struggles with meal preparation or clean up, consider having a home care professional come in several times per week to help with this. 

Purchase a pill sorter and divide the elderly individual’s medication out by day so that it is easy for them to know which pills to take. Write out instructions if necessary, or ask the home care professional to assist with this too. 

Your senior should also know how they would proceed in the event of a home emergency such as a fire. Create an emergency escape plan, and decide upon a meeting spot where you can find one another once they have exited the home.