Minor adjustments enhance the safety and welcoming atmosphere of a senior’s residence. Additionally, they facilitate older individuals in coping with specific obstacles like diminished strength and muscle power decline.
Ramps
Installing a ramp eliminates the need for an older adult to navigate steep steps. Ramps offer a solution for individual facing mobility limitations, enabling wheelchair use without necessitating relocation to a family member’s home or enrollment in assisted living facilities.
Handrails
Handrails provide extra support when climbing stairs or walking from one room to another. This makes them ideal for individuals who have poor balance or lack confidence in their ability to move around without falling. While it’s typical to place handrails in staircases, they can also be installed along hallways, kitchen counters, and adjacent to each exit for added support and safety.
Flooring
Elderly or residences with disabilities might feature cracked tiles, curled carpet edges, or other flooring risks, posing safety concerns for the individual. To reduce the risk of falls, need to consider installing low-impact flooring, which absorbs more energy than standard flooring materials. Rubber and cork are good choices, as they’re soft and slip-resistant. Older adults should also install nonskid backing on their carpets. New flooring can make a big difference in any area of the home, from the kitchen to the basement.
Bathroom Modifications
Bathrooms pose various risks to seniors with balance issues or restricted mobility due to factors such as slippery floors and solid countertops, rendering them potentially unsafe environments. The good news is that a few simple modifications can make a bathroom much safer for an older adult. Installing non-slip decals, adding a shower bench and putting handrails near the toilet and sink may reduce the risk of falls. It’s also helpful to install a single faucet lever to reduce the risk of burns.
Stairlifts
A stair lift is a chair that runs along a motorized track, making it possible to use the upper floors of their home without climbing the stairs. individual may benefit from installing one of these lifts between the basement and first floor or between the first floor and the second floor. In both cases, having a stair lift reduces the risk of injury and gives older adults and person with mobility challenges an increased sense of independence.
Accessible Door Handles and Cabinet Pulls
Arthritis induces discomfort, inflammation, and rigidity in the joints. Seniors experiencing arthritis in their hands find it challenging to open doors, drawers, and cabinets due to these symptoms. One way to combat these problems is to install accessible door handles and cabinet pulls. Accessible door handles allow seniors to open doors without having to grip knobs and twist them. Cabinet pulls have the same purpose, except they make it easier to open cabinets instead of doors.