June is National Safety Awareness Month, which is particularly important for seniors planning to age in place. Helping seniors successfully remain in their own homes as they age means monitoring potential safety issues and addressing them promptly. Home care services can provide significant assistance throughout this process, both in identifying safety issues and developing plans to address them.
Look for Possible Safety Issues in the Home
Taking a quick walkthrough of a senior’s home is a great way to start to get a handle on possible safety concerns. Home care providers can help seniors and family caregivers identify issues that may not be as safe as they used to be. They can do this because professional caregivers have extensive experience with these types of concerns.
These recommendations are a great starting point and can reduce a lot of second-guessing that families might do.
Control Clutter
Clutter is a major concern for seniors in terms of safety. It can be an obstacle, especially if seniors don’t really pay attention to what clutter is in their way.
Another way clutter can pose a safety issue is that it can make it difficult for seniors to access items they need or want. That might cause them to engage in unsafe habits, such as using a step stool unsafely, which could lead to injuries.
Fix Lighting Concerns
Poor lighting can mean that seniors may not notice that a situation is unsafe for them. If they suffer from issues like low vision, then poor lighting is even more hazardous.
Sometimes seniors have trouble with lighting because it’s inconvenient or difficult to reach burned-out light bulbs. Adding lighting through lamps can help, as can using brighter types of bulbs, like LED light bulbs. It’s important to make sure that the bulbs will work with the light fixture, though.
Focus on Specific Areas
Another idea when figuring out safety needs is to focus on specific areas individually. That might mean starting out in the bathroom or the kitchen, then moving on to another area, like the stairway. Each of these areas has some unique challenges, like the chance of slipping in the tub or sharp items in the kitchen.
Developing a plan to address those unique challenges can be easier when focusing on just one area to start out.
See How Home Care Can Help
Home care assistance can offer a lot more support with safety needs than seniors might realize. They can help with mobility challenges, assist with making sure seniors eat enough every day, and help them maintain a tidy home. As they get to know the seniors they’re helping, professional home care providers can offer a lot of other suggestions to help them stay safe at home as they age in place.
Keeping seniors as safe as possible involves examining various areas and potential safety risks. Home care providers have the experience to make this process faster and easier for families, allowing them to focus on helping seniors enjoy this stage of their lives.
If you or an aging loved one is considering Home Care in San Diego, CA, please contact the caring staff at Aaron Home Care. (619) 880-5522
A Trusted Home Care Agency Serving La Jolla, Pacific Beach, Point Loma, San Diego, UTC, La Mesa, Chula Vista, Coronado, Bonita, Eastlake, and the surrounding areas.
In 1999, Aaron was named Residential Program Manager of a group home for disabled adults in Arlington, Virgina. Here, he built a reputation for being compassionate with his clients and efficient in company operations. In the years that followed, Washington DC’s human services field went through unprecedented reform when the city was fined $11 million for the previously unchecked abuse, neglect, and exploitation of the very population it was supposed to protect. In 2005, Aaron was selected by a watchdog company to co-create and implement a monitoring system to safeguard and advocate for the system’s most vulnerable residents. This system is still in use today.
Aaron is now using his unique gifts and profound experience in the human service field to provide San Diego County Seniors with dependable, compassionate caregivers through Aaron Home Care.
He currently serves on the board of the San Diego Regional Home Care Council and is an active member of the Senior Advocate Network of San Diego.
Aaron Home Care is a member of the American Board of Home Care and is accredited by the Better Business Bureau.
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