{"id":4571,"date":"2021-05-19T21:58:12","date_gmt":"2021-05-19T21:58:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/s37407.p1377.sites.pressdns.com\/resources\/april-senior-sense-tips-for-home-safety-a\/"},"modified":"2021-05-19T21:58:12","modified_gmt":"2021-05-19T21:58:12","slug":"april-senior-sense-tips-for-home-safety-a","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/april-senior-sense-tips-for-home-safety-a\/","title":{"rendered":"April \u201cSenior Sense\u201d Tips for Home Safety: A Daughter\u2019s Story"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>By Rudri Patel<\/em><\/p><p>&ldquo;You want to live on your own, Mom?&rdquo; My voice quivered as I asked this question, hoping she&rsquo;d say no. Recently widowed, my elderly immigrant Indian mother surprised me when she made the announcement she wanted to live in an apartment by herself. As a concerned daughter and caregiver, I worried about her health and whether her frail knees would permit her to take care of her living space. I yearned for peace of mind, while my mother craved independence.<\/p><p>The AARP suggests <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aarp.org\/caregiving\/basics\/info-2017\/home-safety-tips-ag.html\">90% of people<\/a> who have health problems prefer staying in one place, usually in their own home. Since Mom committed to living in an apartment, I found ways to ease my worries and keep her place safe. As a family caregiver, here are some important tips I learned about home safety:<\/p><ul><li><strong>Clutter-free zones are important.<\/strong> Mom often uses a cane and sometimes needs a walker to move around, so it is important clutter doesn&rsquo;t get in her pathway. Move objects away from the doorway, remove clutter stacked on shelves and clear counter space so items don&rsquo;t fall.<\/li><li><strong>Pay attention to fall risks.<\/strong> Uneven floor surfaces, crumpled rugs, and unfastened carpet pose tripping hazards. Secure wires, cords, and cables away from the flow of foot traffic.<\/li><li><strong>Lighting is key.<\/strong> Make certain hallways, walkways, and stairs in and outside of the home are well lit. Place a night light in the restroom.<\/li><li><strong>Small spaces sometimes mean greater danger.<\/strong> Since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsusa.com\/articles\/article\/preventing-senior-falls-starts-in-the-bathroom.aspx\">many falls<\/a> occur in the bathroom, place nonslip mats in and outside of the shower. Add a grip bar near toilets and in the shower. Also, water temperature should be set to a maximum of 120 degrees.<\/li><li><strong>Fire safety is always a concern.<\/strong> The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nfpa.org\/Public-Education\/By-topic\/Top-causes-of-fire\/Cooking\">National Fire Protection Association<\/a> reports most home fires start in the kitchen. Keep counters clear of wires, flammable materials and free of grease. Fire alarms and carbon monoxide monitors should be installed and working.<\/li><li><strong>Keep a fire extinguisher handy.<\/strong> Make certain your loved one knows how to use it. It might be a good idea to invest in automatic shut-off appliances.<\/li><li><strong>For loved ones that drive, check to see if car maintenance and insurance\/registration is current.<\/strong> Equip the car with a portable phone charger. Always have a first aid kit, a spare tire and jumper cables in the vehicle. If a loved one cannot drive, explore other options such as public transportation or UBER.<\/li><li><strong>Communicate.<\/strong> Jot down phone numbers of friends and neighbors that live near your loved one. Discuss an emergency plan in case of fire or natural disasters.<\/li><li><strong>Invest in help.<\/strong> A life and medical alert system is key for urgent emergencies, especially for caregivers that live far away. Also, for the remote caregiver, look into hiring <a href=\"https:\/\/www.care.com\/housekeeping\">housekeepers<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.care.com\/transportation-resources-p1387-q24222998.html\">transportation help<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.care.com\/senior-care\">in-home care<\/a> if necessary.<\/li><\/ul><p>Through this caregiving journey, I&rsquo;ve learned my mom is able to navigate her terrain and I don&rsquo;t need to always worry. Mom has come a long way since her immigrant beginnings in India. She claims her independence, while I cheerlead on the sidelines, both as a daughter and a caregiver.<\/p><p>&nbsp;To learn more about keeping a loved one safe at home contact a Senior Care Advisor at Care.com. We are master&rsquo;s-level social workers specializing in adult and senior care. Call us today at (855) 781-1303 x3 or email questions to <a href=\"mailto:seniorsense@care.com\">careplanning@care.com<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Rudri Patel &ldquo;You want to live on your own, Mom?&rdquo; My voice quivered as I asked this question, hoping she&rsquo;d say no. Recently widowed, my elderly immigrant Indian mother surprised me when she made the announcement she wanted to live in an apartment by herself. As a concerned daughter and caregiver, I worried about <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/april-senior-sense-tips-for-home-safety-a\/\">Read more&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":758,"featured_media":26850,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"enable_toc":false,"care_reviewed_by":0,"care_post_updated_flag":false,"care_updated_date":"","last_update":"2021-05-19","view_count":1186,"footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"member-type":[4],"vertical":[29],"platform":[2],"class_list":["post-4571","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","member-type-all","vertical-money-planning","platform-resources"],"acf":[],"created":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4571","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/758"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4571"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4571\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4571"},{"taxonomy":"member-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/member-type?post=4571"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=4571"},{"taxonomy":"platform","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.care.com\/c\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/platform?post=4571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}