Checking Your Senior’s Home for Accessibility and Safety While Visiting for the Holidays

By Jessica Ott | December 4, 2018 |

Senior Care Hanover PA: Senior Home Accessibility During the Holidays

If you are a distance family caregiver for your aging parent, you may not be as familiar with their living environment as you should be. This means you might not be aware of some of the risks that they face and hazards that exist in their home that could put them at risk due to their challenges and needs. While visiting during the holidays, you can learn a tremendous amount about the risks your senior faces and how you can improve their living environment by checking their home for accessibility and safety. This can help you to improve your care efforts and protect your aging loved one while also spending quality time with them.

Use these tips to check your senior’s home for accessibility and safety while visiting for the holidays:

Talk to your senior and ask them if there are any areas of the home where they don’t feel safe, or where they feel like they can’t effectively use all of the features and space due to their limitations
Pay close attention to how your parent moves and any challenges they might experience, and keep those in mind as you give yourself a tour of the home. Try to mimic those challenges as much as you can, so you can get a clear perspective on what your parent goes through. For example, if they cannot lift their feet high when they are walking, shuffle your feet as you move around to the home, paying attention to floor coverings that feel sticky or cause you to slip or trip
Check features intended to improve safety and make sure they are actually doing this. For example, check handrails, banisters, and grab bars to ensure they are properly installed and stable enough to support your parents. Put a good amount of weight on them and see if you feel as though they are supporting you properly and would be able to help your parent maintain their balance
Go around the outside of the house and check all potential entrances. Look for broken locks or features of the home that might make it easy for an intruder to access windows and doors
If your aging parent utilizes mobility aid such as a walker, borrow it and move around the home. Take note of places the mobility aid does not easily pass, or where you feel like you have to lift and move the aid, such as around furniture. This can give you good insight as to places that may need to be rearranged to provide easier navigation for your senior

Bringing senior care into your care routine with your aging parent can be one of the best decisions you make as a family caregiver. A senior home care services provider can be with your aging parent on a customized schedule design not just to address their specific needs and challenges, but also the amount of care you give them on a regular basis. This ensures your senior always has access to the care and support they need to manage their challenges, stay safe and healthy, and pursue a lifestyle that is fulfilling and independent. For you as a family caregiver, knowing your senior has this care reduces your stress, boosts your well-being, and allows you to focus on your parent-child relationship as well as other obligations of your life.

If you or an aging loved one are considering in-home Senior Care in Hanover, PA, please talk to us. Our friendly staff can answer all of your questions. In-home Senior Care in Adams and York Counties, PA. Call Today: (717) 698-8258

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Jessica Ott

Owner at A Helping Hand Home Care Services, LLC

Jessica Ott is the Owner at A Helping Hand Home Care Services, LLC.

A Helping Hand Home Care Services, LLC is dedicated to providing our clients with a better quality of life through our support services while maintaining their independence in the comfort of their own home.

As a Home Care Agency licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health, we can provide families with peace of mind, knowing their loved one is in good hands.

We will work with you to prepare a care plan that incorporates your needs, your wishes, and your preferred schedule. Each client is matched with a caregiver who can best meet their individual needs, whether they reside in a house, apartment, condominium, assisted living, or nursing community.