Home Safety

Most people want to stay home, but their environment may need to be adapted as their abilities change or if you have just taken someone in, you may need to make some changes.

When you go into the home, look at the rooms they need to have access to and make sure they have that access. The most dangerous rooms are the kitchen and the bathroom. Falls occur in the bathroom, wet flooring and climbing into a tub. And in the kitchen is burns or cuts.

So you want to remove the safety risks that are in those rooms. Get rid of the throw rugs. And walk through that home. Paula says, when she do a home-safety assessment, she will go into the home with the person and walk through that home with them so she can see where they need to go and what they need to do. And I always capitalize on the function they have.

Good idea to encourage their independence by making their environment fit their abilities.

In all areas of the home check:

•   all electrical outlets,switches and telephone cords
•   rugs and mats
•   smoke detectors
•   light bulbs
•   space heaters and wood burning stoves
•   emergency exit plan.