Age brings greater emphasis on home safety

Tag : Lighting Switches
"Being in your own home is the best place to be as long as it'ssafe," said Diane Cassidy, a physical therapist with RebuildingTogether in West Hartford.

Some seniors need their homes renovated to accommodate physicallimitations, while others face memory impairment. Others are indanger of wandering out of their homes if unchecked.

"One of the highest dangers for elderly people is risk from fall,"Cassidy said. Area rugs and marble thresholds are a specialconcern. Any surface with variations of more than one-quarter inchis a potential hazard, she said.

According to Pamela Hewitt, a certified aging specialist andoccupational therapist with Everhome Consulting LLC in North Haven,some houses are of a greater concern than others, particularlyolder, multiple-story homes with older, less accessible lightswitches and narrow doorways.
According to John Dwan, "most trips and falls occur in thebathroom." Dwan is owner of Home Instead Senior Care, which hasoffices in Orange and Cheshire.

To prevent falls in the bathroom, the toilet and shower need to bemade more easily accessible. A good way to improve accessibility isthe installation of grab bars that seniors can use to raise andlower themselves. The wall behind the grab bar needs to be strongenough to support the bar and the person grabbing hold of it,Hewitt said.

In the bathroom, it is important to consider "safety as well asaccessibility," Hewitt said. Residents should ensure they have thetoilet at a comfortable height, neither too low nor too high.

Sufficient lighting in all parts of the home can also help preventfalls. Light switches need to be easily accessible. Fluorescentbulbs are preferred over incandescent ones, as they last longer.All surfaces should be non-glare to avoid interfering with seniors'eyesight, Dwan said.

Rails on any and all steps need to be usable, sturdy and easilygrasped. There should be two railings for every stair in the home,one on each side, Cassidy said.

According to Levine, one particular concern is steps "that theperson cannot negotiate," she said.

Many seniors have cluttered furniture, meaning "it's hard tonavigate through their homes," said Frances Halloran of FrancesHalloran Interior Design. Halloran is a certified aging in placespecialist from Durham.

Seniors should have nothing blocking their path, preferring wide,straight paths through the home.
In case of a fall, whereas wall phones can be nearly inaccessible,seniors "should have at least one phone that's on a table," Cassidysaid.

It's important to assure seniors can easily reach anything theymight need. A good rule of thumb is nothing below the knees andnothing above the shoulders, Dwan said.

Doors need to open easily. Some seniors, particularly those withsevere arthritis, might have difficulty using conventional handles.Doors also need to be wide enough for a walker or wheelchair to gothrough.

A cart in the kitchen might facilitate getting food from therefrigerator to the table and all rooms should be kept up to modernelectrical code. Well maintained smoke and carbon monoxidedetectors are also extremely important.

bkoenig@record-journal.com
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