Is Your Loved One Safe at Home?
A sample study of adults between 50-80 found that 88 percent feel it’s important to age in one’s current home for as long as possible. Many retirees want to remain in their homes, but as we get older, living alone may no longer be a safe option.
Home safety is crucial for aging in place, but it’s also important to understand additional care and living options to ensure your loved one maintains a safe and healthy lifestyle. The Woodlands at Canterfield is a brand-new assisted living community in West Dundee, Illinois, focused on enhancing residents’ wellness and quality of life.
To promote home safety, here are some signs that your loved one may no longer be safe living on their own.
Challenges with Daily Tasks
Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) are defined as the essential, routine tasks a person needs to be able to do on their own to live independently and are broken down into six categories:
- Eating
- Hygiene
- Dressing
- Grooming
- Mobility
- Toileting and Continence
Think about the last time you visited your parent or loved one, and the conditions of their home and their abilities. For instance, their home may show increased signs of disorder and neglect (light bulbs out, lawn overgrown, etc. Or you may have noticed changes in their personal hygiene, such as leaving their hair unwashed or wearing the same clothes repeatedly.
Difficulties with ADLs correspond to how much assistance and support a person needs. If you notice that your parents or loved one is experiencing challenges with multiple ADLs, it’s time to consider additional care options or assisted living support.
Experiencing Frequent Falls
As noted in the last section, “mobility” is an activity of daily living that centers around a person’s ability to move easily and safely without assistance. Unfortunately, when it comes to home safety, your loved one may have difficulty getting in/out of bed, standing up from furniture or ascending and descending stairs, which can lead to increased falls.
If your loved one’s mobility issues have led to frequent accidents or falls, you can implement home safety tools to offer support and basic assistance. For example, installing grab bars next to the toilet or bathtub to prevent slipping or stairlifts to ensure they can safely make it up and down the stairs.
Confusing Medications
Older adults use more medication than any other age group in the United States. Depending on your loved one situation, they may take several medications daily, which can lead to confusion. “Older adults tend to receive prescriptions from different healthcare professionals making it difficult to track medicines and identify drug interactions, harmful doses and ineffective medicines (bemedwise.org).”
To encourage home safety and medication management, create a detailed list of each medication, the proper dosage and the times at which they need to be taken. However, if your parent or loved one struggles to take properly take their medications or often forgets to refill prescriptions, it might be time to consider assisted living support. At The Woodlands at Canterfield, our goal is to help individuals live healthier lives and our medication management services ensure they understand, receive and properly take medications.
Lacking Social Opportunities
Older adults are at a greater risk of loneliness and social isolation due to living alone, changes in mobility and other issues that can impact their ability to connect with others.
If you’ve noticed a lack of a social schedule or have heard from your loved one’s neighbors or friends about missed appointments or gatherings, talk to your loved one to discover the reason for this isolation.
Beyond assistance with ADLs, assisted living communities offer individuals the opportunity to live in a community setting surrounded by neighbors and peers and connect with others over meals, throughout the community and during activities and events.
Neglecting Home Maintenance
Owning a home is a rewarding and special experience, but maintaining a home involves a lot of responsibilities, tasks and unexpected costs. For example, consistently keeping up with yard work and outdoor home improvements, slippery floors from mopping and walking up-and-down the stairs to clean basements or lower levels can lead to falls and injuries.
While your loved one may want to age in place, they have to be able to maintain a comfortable and safe living environment.
When to Consider Assisted Living
While there are home safety measures you can implement in your loved one’s house, their needs and abilities may require more constant attention and support over time. If this is the case, it might be time to talk to them about making the move to an assisted living community.
Assisted living communities foster an active and independent lifestyle for residents while providing assistance tailored to each individual’s needs. These communities ensure residents can enjoy a safe, comforting environment as they engage in social activities, fun events, restaurant-quality dining, and premier amenities meant to enhance their wellness!
The Woodlands at Canterfield is a brand-new assisted living community in West Dundee, Illinois, offering exceptional hospitality, world-class amenities and a highly trained staff of professionals that use their expertise and genuine respect to serve.
Discover luxury senior living and our unique approach to active living by visiting our website.
