Home safety is essential for seniors who choose to age at home. Reducing fall risks is a good place to start along with incorporating easy-to-use technology and services that simplify daily tasks and create automatic alerts in emergencies. Another way to approach making a senior’s home safe is to assess their home room by room. For seniors living with dementia, consider creating clear walkways or installing appliances equipped with automatic shut-offs. Safety modifications don’t need to be complicated, but many seniors are unaware of the dangers in their homes. Having a home safety inspection can highlight specific safety concerns and help encourage a resistant senior to consider making some much-needed changes.
Our free tool provides options, advice, and next steps based on your unique situation.
Falls are the leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injuries in seniors 65 and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).[01] With aging skin and decreased bone density, seniors often face physical challenges recovering from falls, and the financial impact of medically supported recovery can be significant.
The following safety tips can help make your loved one’s home safer while minimizing the chances of a fall:
Our free tool provides options, advice, and next steps based on your unique situation.
Even if your aging relative isn’t tech-savvy, the following easy-to-use devices and services can help seniors to reduce fall risks, manage medication, and access help in case of emergency:
Create a home safety checklist to review each month. Here are examples of questions to consider when creating your list:
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Seniors with mild cognitive impairment may be able to age at home but it’s important to recognize that dementia is a progressive condition. Seniors who have begun to wander or have experienced significant memory loss should be supervised at all times.
If you’re caring for a senior loved one with dementia in your own home, take these additional safety precautions to help prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s home safety risks:
A certified home safety specialist can help prioritize steps to keep your senior loved one safe in their home.
A thorough home safety inspection should include the following:
Often, elderly people don’t realize their home is unsafe and don’t feel the need to make changes, says Linda Bohmbach, cofounder and vice president of sales and marketing at Home Healthsmith, a home safety modification company in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.
To help keep seniors safe in their own homes, it’s best to start preparing before an emergency or life-changing event. Proper precautions can reduce fall risks, and avoiding injuries makes it much easier for seniors to age at home.
By starting small with simple modifications — like grab bars, nonslip mats, and accessible light switches and door handles — you may be able to reduce the need for more significant and expensive renovations.
If your senior loved one is set on aging at home, larger accessibility modifications can also help. Chair lifts can be installed in multistory houses, and ramps can replace exterior steps.
Bohmbach notes that seniors deserve to feel independent in the houses they love and that any home can be made senior-friendly with the right modifications.
“When they look in the mirror, they don’t see someone who’s older,” she says. “They see someone about to go off to war, or a businessman or a homemaker, so we make the modifications to help them live a full and independent life at home.”
Whether it’s small fixes like moving electric outlets to accessible locations and replacing doorknobs with lever handles, or bigger renovations like adding an elevator, home safety experts can help allow your senior loved one to age in place.
While accessibility devices and routine safety checks can help with home safety in elderly adults, assistance with health care and activities of daily living may become necessary as seniors age. In-home care is a valuable resource that can offer a range of benefits for seniors aging in place. If your loved one needs extra support at home, A Place for Mom’s Senior Living Advisors can help you explore home care options that fit your loved one’s needs and budget.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, December 16). Keep on your feet — Preventing older adult falls.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (2022, August 16). FDA Finalizes Historic Rule Enabling Access to Over-the-Counter Hearing Aids for Millions of Americans. FDA.gov.
Yates, L., Csipke, E., Moniz-Cook, E., Leung, P., Walton, H., Charlesworth, G., Spector, A., Hogervorst, E., Mountain, G., Orrell, M. (2019, September 10). The development of the promoting independence in dementia (PRIDE) intervention to enhance independence in dementia. Clinical Interventions in Aging.
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