what should a home care provider really be doing?
Safety Tips for Senior Home Care
Adrian Cano
Slip and fall injuries are the biggest threat to the health of seniors who choose to stay living in their family homes as they age. A simple slip in the bathroom or fall down a single stair can result in a broken hip or another life-threatening injury. For this reason, it's vital to take steps to proactively prevent fall injuries for older people wanting to stay in their homes to the end of their lives.
If the time has come when your elderly parent needs some additional home care so they can continue to live independently in their home, then there are many things you can do to improve their safety, including each of these tips:
Safety Tip: Remove All Area Rugs from the Home
One of the most hazardous items in most homes isn't the fireplace or stove, instead, it is all of the small area rugs lying around in the kitchen and bathrooms. These small rugs pose a tripping hazard and can also slide out under your parent's feet and cause a fall. While you can tack them down to the floor with two-sided tape, it is always best to simply remove them altogether.
Safety Tip: Install Ramps Where Appropriate and Clearly Mark Stairs Where It Isn't
As people age, their ability to climb stairs and see well both start to decline. This makes stairs very dangerous because it's easy to become fatigued and fall down them, and it is also easy to miss the top or bottom stair and fall.
To prevent falls on stairs, install ramps where it is appropriate to do so. For example, the stairs leading up to the house or those going out to the backyard. Where it isn't appropriate to install a ramp, then use some bright-colored duct tape and mark the top and bottom stairs so they can be seen much easier by aging eyes.
Safety Tip: Hire Someone to Perform Senior Home Care When Necessary
In conclusion, it's important to note that most seniors eventually require some additional home health care if they are to stay in their homes and avoid a stay in assisted living or a nursing home. If no one in your family is available to be at your parent's home during meal preparation or bathing time, then you should seriously consider hiring a senior home care aide to help out and help keep your parents safe.
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If you have a home health care worker in your home, you know very well how helpful he or she can be. What you may not know is what all that worker is supposed to be doing while in your home. Does the service provide general housecleaning services? Should he or she be doing laundry for the one that they are caring for? My blog will show you what services may or may not be offered by home health care services so that you can look further into what the service you have hired is supposed to be doing in your home.