Making Your Home Accessible and Safe

Surveys show that overwhelmingly, people want to grow old in their own homes. But not all homes are ready to accommodate your needs as your age into your 70s, 80s, or even beyond. Could you accommodate a wheelchair? If you had trouble walking, working in the kitchen, reaching shelves or switches, or cooking, could you make changes that would allow you to be functional as well as safe?

The lack of age-friendly home modifications can be a significant barrier to aging in place. Fortunately, there are companies that can help you determine what modifications may be needed by offering a home inspection. The MetLife insurance company says sustained improvements in three areas are needed to help people achieve rewarding aging-in-place experiences.

1. Communities need to be age-friendly, providing the right mix of coordinated services close to home to accommodate an individual’s changing needs as they age.
2. Technology can bring healthcare and other services into the home. Sophisticated monitoring, remote sensing, interactive tools and diagnostics, online communication and access to online community support and social activities can keep an individual healthy and socially active, a critically important part of life as people age.
3. Age-friendly housing needs to provide the right physical environment. Making your home ready for your "future self" is something you can begin doing now, within your budget.

MetLife recommends three priorities for home modifications:

Fall prevention. Remove throw rugs, especially in bathrooms and the kitchen. Install grab bars and grips in the bathroom. Install good lighting and easy to reach switche. Be sure there is adequate lighting in stairs, halls, entries and doors. Ensure good footing on stairs with rails; consider removing carpet on stairs. Light pathways outside at night.  

Accessible navigation. Depending on your home, this can be more extensive and more expensive. A common need is to remove raised entrances between rooms and to the house itself. This is needed for wheelchair access and to remove the risk of tripping and falling.  Ramps and rails can make the difference. Relocate furniture or downsize furniture choices to create clear pathways through the home. Easy access to bedrooms and bathrooms is particularly important.

Bathroom and kitchen makeovers. Bathrooms and kitchens are key areas for potential hazards. The majority of home accidents occur among seniors occur here. Modifications can include a no-step shower or even a lift to help people get into the bathtub. Other bathroom changes include a sitting space under the bathroom sink and extra space around the toilets so a caregiver can provide assistance if needed.

In the kitchen, work and storage areas can be lowered and made wheelchair accessible so wheelchair users and older occupants can prepare meals and have easier access to food, dishes, and cooking tools. Consider a back-up power generator.

Kitchen and bathroom modifications can be expensive. Although homeowners might consider them too steep to be practical, consider the alternative of moving or even the costs of medical care and recovery in the wake of an accident. Even including all costs of at-home care and continued residency, the payback period on the investment might not be long. More important, if the modifications help someone avoid an at-home injury with hospitalization expenses, the savings are far greater than just money.

In-Touch at Home offers a free home safety inspection. Contact is at 858-522-9942 to schedule one for your home.

About InTouch at Home

InTouch at Home is a Senior Resource Group, LLC (SRG) company.  Serving the needs of seniors and their families for more than 25 years, SRG delivers on the promise of exceptional service and quality care each and every day through its 18 communities including La Vida Real (Rancho San Diego) and La Vida Del Mar. Now through InTouch at Home, this same outstanding care and service is available to you in your home, wherever it may be. For more information, call 858-522-9942 or visit www.InTouch-at-Home.com.

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