If you or your loved one has recently needed surgery, suffered a heart attack, or experienced another major medical event, a home safety assessment is an important part of returning home. Home safety assessments are one of the many services that we offer through our home health company and an incredibly important one for seniors to move around their homes safely.
Home Safety Assessment Process
The assessment process starts by evaluating you or your loved one’s needs. Some people may have more trouble with mobility than others. Some may have weaker sight or less stamina than others. We take your individual condition and needs into consideration before starting the assessment. Our goal is to help our clients make their homes truly livable and suited to their needs.
Our assessment will focus on how your home is currently designed and what might need to be added or changed to make it safer and more accessible. We will take into account things like:
- flooring material in the home (wood, laminate, tile, carpet, etc.)
- rugs, mats and other floor coverings
- furniture layout in the home
- light level in the home
- safety railings
Once we have seen the home, we will recommend and help you make changes.
Possible Recommended Changes
It’s common for clients to get recommendations about changing the floor coverings or layout of the furniture in their home. These are usually simple changes that can make a big difference in mobility. Creating wider paths between furniture can help someone move around easier, or accommodate a wheelchair or walker. Loose rugs or thick mats can be tripping hazards, so we sometimes recommend removing them from the floor.
Another common recommendation is increasing the light in a room. This can be particularly helpful to people who are starting to have more trouble seeing. More light can help them navigate their home safely. Something as simple as adding a lamp or changing to brighter bulbs could make a big difference.
Adding safety railings is not as simple as removing a rug or turning on a lamp, but it may be an important update to make a person’s home accessible to them. These can be especially important in bathrooms and around staircases.
These are just examples of some common changes we may recommend. One of the benefits of home safety assessments is how customizable they are. Just as we build personalized treatment plans for our clients, we can also make personalized recommendations based on our clients’ goals, ability, and current home.
If you or your loved one could benefit from home healthcare, including skilled nursing and in-home therapy, give us a call! We’d be happy to talk with you about how we can help.