Many older adults find that a small, well-appointed apartment is the perfect place to live out their retirement years. Without the responsibilities a home entails (such as yard and home maintenance and higher utility bills), an apartment can be the perfect size for a solo senior. Caregivers often find relief from not having to handle household tasks, giving them more time to support their elderly loved ones with daily or weekly care tasks and activities.
While apartment living offers many benefits for older adults, one challenge is the inability to physically alter the environment to help their loved one stay safe, especially from falls. This is where a senior fall risk management team can step in and help you and your loved one make their apartment home as safe as it can be for them by eliminating or reducing some of their risks when they’re at home.
Most Falls Happen At Home
While you or your loved one may be concerned about them falling in the community, most falls occur at home, and many are preventable. To proactively reduce fall risk, it can take a fresh pair of eyes to assess the living situation.
A senior fall risk management professional can review the inside, outside, and any other areas your loved one frequently travels to get into their apartment to help them notice the possible hazards and take steps to reduce their risk.
Reducing the Risk of Falling Inside the Apartment
The area that your loved one has the most control over is the inside of their apartment, so their senior fall risk management provider will most likely start here and help them see areas that could be changed to make their living space safer.
- Rugs: Over time, many rugs develop corners that lift and create tripping hazards. Replace or eliminate any rugs that may cause your loved one to stumble.
- Electrical cords: Some apartments don’t have a lot of outlets, so it’s more likely that electrical cords are lying around, possibly presenting tripping hazards. Tuck all cords neatly out of all walking spaces.
- Cramped living quarters: If your loved one has more stuff than their apartment should hold, it might make it difficult to get around each room, and it’s more likely they’ll trip over something sticking out where it shouldn’t be. Consider purchasing a storage unit for items they don’t need or donating some items.
- Low lighting: If your loved one’s apartment doesn’t have overhead lights, make sure there are enough table lamps and even night lights to help them see when they walk around.
Reducing the Risk of Falling Outside of the Apartment
- If possible, have your loved one live on the ground floor so they don’t need to use stairs to reach their apartment, or in a building with an elevator.
- If they must use stairs, they should always hold the railings and avoid carrying heavy loads that prevent them from seeing where their feet land.
- During inclement weather, don’t go out until management has cleared sidewalks of all ice and snow.
An apartment can be an ideal home for an elderly loved one when proper safety precautions from a senior fall risk management team are in place.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Senior Fall Risk Management in Palo Alto, CA, please contact the caring staff at Aviva In-Home Care today at (415) 463-1400
Aviva In-Home Care provides exceptional senior home care in the Bay Area, including San Francisco, Burlingame, San Mateo, Hillsborough, Atherton, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Berkeley, Lafayette, Orinda, and surrounding areas.
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