9 Safety Guidelines to Ease Your (and Their) Mind
Some seniors are perfectly fine living on their own. If their health is relatively good, they are cognizant, able to take care of light household tasks, and have a social network to keep them connected, the best thing may be for them to remain independent.
Nevertheless, it is wise to take precautions that keep them safe and independent.
Here are 9 safety guidelines, based upon our two decades experience caring for the elderly in their homes.
- If you can’t keep in touch with your loved ones every day, see if their community has a senior check-in call service. A daily check-in service calls a senior every day at a set time. If the senior does not answer after several tries, the service notifies the designated caregivers. With many services, if the caregivers do not respond, the service calls the police to ask for a welfare check
- Make sure they follow CDC guidelines during the pandemic and consider using grocery delivery services and purchasing items on-line as opposed to going to stores
- Ask them to wear a personal emergency response system or medical alert device
- Make sure your loved one’s bathroom is accessible and safe
- Install grab bars in the shower. Generally speaking, avoid suction-cup grab bars, which can loosen over time and put users at risk. Make sure the shower is equipped with a shower seat, a non-slip shower mat, in addition to a hand-held shower nozzle
- Living quarters should be free of clutter
- Remove unnecessary furniture
- Eliminate area rugs that can pull up or get caught on a heel or walker
- Check for extension cords or any other tripping hazards – and remove them
- Install fire alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. Make sure they have fresh batteries
- Confirm that your loved one has plenty of food, there are no expired goods, plenty of healthy options available, and they are eating nutritiously.
- If the time has come that they really shouldn’t be living alone, consider hiring an in-home health care service firm. But first, make sure that it is regulated by Division of Consumer Affairs, New Jersey Office of the Attorney General, and overseen by New Jersey Board of Nursing. Confirm that a Registered Nurse will visit your loved one regularly and that the caregiver providing care is a Certified Home Health Aide.