Four Home Improvements to Make for your Senior Parent
You have made the decision to move your senior parent into your house. You will feel more comfortable, knowing that they are safer with you. However, in addition to moving in their belongings, you will also have to update your house to meet their accessibility needs. These home improvements will not only make around the house navigation easier but will also give your senior parent a safer place to live.
Handicap ramps
Handicap ramps are a necessity for improving the mobility in your house. Without high quality and durable handicap ramps, your senior parent will never be able to leave the house. Handicap ramps make mobility easier, even if it just means going out on the back porch. You will also save a lot of backaches and injuries by not having to carry your parent or their mobility device up and down stairs anytime you want to leave the house.
Open entryways and floor plans
Open entryways and floor plans are ideal for those with mobility devices. If possible, remove any barriers such as cabinets or decorative items that are placed in narrow hallways. These items can make it more difficult and more dangerous to maneuver from room to room. Following ADA door requirements is best for creating a safe navigation route for your senior parent. If your parent is currently using a manual mobility device, it is even more important to remove these barriers.
Stairlifts and lift slings for the elderly
If you have multiple levels to your house, you will also want to find an easy way for your senior parent to navigate from one floor to the other. It can be difficult to create a living space on only one floor. Most homes with multiple floors have bedrooms, bathrooms, and the kitchen on different levels of the house. Fortunately, with easy to use stairlifts and a lift sling for elderly individuals, they can easily get from one floor to the other. The lift sling for elderly device does not take up much room, can easily be installed to curved staircases, and is extremely safe to use with most mobility devices.
Bathroom accessibility products
It is important that your senior parent has the ability to navigate to the bathroom on their own. This is the one ability that often requires a nursing home residence. However, making minor changes to the bathroom to increase mobility assistance can allow your senior parent to hold onto their independence for as long as possible. It is also one of the most common mobility assistance renovations. According to HomeAdvisor?s 2016 Aging in Place Report, 48% of homeowners over the age of 55 say the bathroom is the top area in the home that they have considered modifying for aging in place.
Bathroom accessibility features include grab bars, electric wheelchair toiletries, and even a lift sling for elderly for easy bathing. It is usually best to leave the bathroom modifications to a professional contractor. Each year, nearly 235,000 people experience injuries in the bathroom, according to the CDC. Because it is so important to create a safe bathroom environment, you want to hire contractors that are familiar with ADA requirements and the best renovations for increased mobility assistance.
Among older adults, over 50% of all falls take place at home. If you are going to be inviting your senior parent with mobility needs to live in your home, it is important that you create a space that is safe and easily accessible. Products like the lift sling for elderly, chair lifts, and handicap ramps are extremely beneficial in living an independent life, even with mobility concerns.