Home is comfortable. It is familiar. It holds memories. That is why it should come as no surprise that many seniors prefer to stay in their own homes for as long as possible. With the right home modifications, accommodations, and support, aging in place (at home) safely is possible.

Easy Home Modifications for Aging in Place

In-Home Caregivers

In-home caregivers both work to improve the long-term health of their clients. They help seniors adapt to the new challenges they face. Some seniors may need to adjust their daily routines and habits to age in place more effectively. By strengthening functional daily living skills, older adults can stay independent for longer.

For many older adults, aging comes with a plethora of physical and mental barriers that affect day-to-day life. Dementia, arthritis, and injuries can limit mobility and impact activities of daily living such as bathing, dressing, cooking, and cleaning. When facing these issues, families must make difficult decisions. Aging at home is the preferable and less traumatic option. And, quite often, in-home care helps older adults successfully age in place.

If you are concerned about your aging parent’s safety at home, you could have an i-home care service assist families in creating an environment that better meets their loved one’s needs and abilities, while also helping seniors execute different activities of daily living.

Home Assessment

An In-Home Care Service can come in and conduct a basic home assessment. They can evaluate your loved one’s ability to navigate around different rooms, access items they need, and complete daily tasks. As they observe or ask them to do a variety of things, they can also identify any obstacles or barriers that may be impeding their ability to live independently and then suggest home improvements.

How to Adapt Your Home For Aging in Place

Following their evaluation, the In-Home Care Service can provide recommendations for:

  • Home modifications for seniors including adding grab bars, stair lifts, widened doorways, lower counters, lever-style door handles, or improved lighting.
  • Adaptive furniture or equipment to help them remain more independent and safer.
  • Different techniques for completing tasks that make them easier for seniors.

Depending on your budget and your loved one’s needs, an In-Home Care Service can provide suggestions for changes ranging from very simple to more complex and costly. They can also evaluate how seniors interact and engage within the community and their ability to access different resources or get themselves to and from various places.

In-Home Care Services can create adaptive strategies or modifications based on your senior’s individual abilities and needs. In turn, this can boost your loved one’s confidence and help them maintain as much independence as possible.

Talking to Seniors About Changes

Sometimes aging adults can be resistant to help or do not want to make changes in their homes. Present these ideas as a way to support them, not suggest that they can no longer do things on their own. For instance, say that you know how their bathroom floor can be slippery when wet, so you want to install grab bars so it’s easier to get up and down from the toilet seat, in and out of the walk-in shower, or walk-in tub. Or that you noticed how dark the stairwell can be, so you want to brighten it up with motion sensor lights.

Encourage them to give in-home care services and try to see how they feel once they have implemented some of the different strategies recommended. They may find they like that it is easier for them to brush their hair or button their shirt using an adaptive method. Or it’s more comfortable to get what they want using a reacher instead of stretching up or bending down.

Caregivers perform home evaluations to help identify where home modifications could be made for aging in place. They also educate and team up with caregivers, making sure they balance their personal lives with their roles in providing necessary care. Here are a few ways in-home care services can help people age in place.

1. Overcome everyday challenges

Caregivers use education, exercise, and rehabilitation techniques to help make daily tasks like getting dressed, eating, bathing, and using the restroom easier for patients. Range-of-motion exercises can include something like sitting in a chair with your arms at your side and feet flat on the floor and slowly extending one leg out in front of you and holding it for a few seconds.

By focusing on what they can do rather than what they can’t, Caregivers teach patients to do daily tasks safely based on their abilities. Working on crossword puzzles, doing arts and crafts, or reading a magazine can help patients sharpen their fine and basic motor skills, keep up their strength and improve their dexterity.

2. Recommend home modifications

Caregivers look at your parents’ home layout to get a feel for how they move around their home every day. They recommend modifications like getting a bathtub seat or grab bars to make daily activities safer. Home modifications help prevent falls and instill confidence when doing everyday tasks:

  • Walk-in bathtubs and showers
  • Installing grab bars
  • Putting in slip-resistant flooring in bathrooms
  • Power lift recliners
  • Installing a home monitoring or medical alert system

3. Provide support for memory loss

Caregiving is key during the early stages of memory loss. Therapists assess a client’s cognitive ability and help address any changes in their behavior or personality through behavioral modification.

Caregivers help patients who are experiencing dementia by measuring their strengths and weaknesses and then identifying performance areas that need work. Even though there is no cure for the disease, therapy patients often show improvement through adaptation and compensation. A therapist can teach someone with dementia to use lists and other prompts to help with recollection.

Here are some examples of how caregivers can help your loved one with memory loss:

  • Providing engaging occupational tasks for people who engage in repetitive, non-productive behavior. So if the person used to like to do the newspaper’s daily crossword puzzle, providing them with simplified puzzles.
  • Putting stop signs on fence gates or front doors for people who get disoriented or wander.
  • Teaching caregivers non-defensive responding and orienting techniques for people who suffer from personality changes.
  • Helping a caregiver place a limited clothing selection in the closet of a person who forgets what season it is.

4. Help with vision loss

If your parent or loved one suffers from vision loss, such as with glaucoma, a Caregiver can work with them using activities that promote visual awareness, help them detect patterns, and reinforce perceptual skills. A Caregiver may suggest changes at home and work. Changes can include using color-coded ID tags, more lighting and contrast, and aid equipment like magnifiers. They might also suggest removing clutter that could pose a tripping hazard.

Examples of visual therapy practices include:

  • Putting bright orange stickers on dishwashers, microwaves, and washing machines so it’s easier for a patient to know where to put their fingers and push.
  • Painting walls white, painting outlet covers black, and putting white tape around each outlet so someone with macular degeneration knows where to plug in an appliance.
  • Color coding and labeling medication with brightly colored tabs and large print.
  • Putting neon tape on steps to prevent trips and falls.

5. Provide caregiver assistance

Being a primary caregiver can take physical, emotional, and financial tolls. Caregivers are trained to evaluate a caregiver’s situation and help manage or alleviate their workload when necessary. The therapist’s goal with a primary caregiver is to make sure they’re maintaining a lifestyle in which the patient’s needs are met without sacrificing their own. They do this in several ways:

  • Recognizing the caregiver’s needs must be met along with the patients’.
  • Encouraging caregivers to express all feelings: anger, stress, sadness, and frustration.
  • Implementing coping strategies and encouraging healthy lifestyle habits like exercise, group or individual therapy, and hobbies.
  • Keeping caregivers informed on current research about conditions and techniques so they can make better decisions.

Aging in Place

Maintaining independence as long as possible is a major goal as people get older. A dedicated Caregiver working with an In-Home Care service can help aging adults stay active, safely do daily tasks, and maintain a healthy lifestyle while living at home.

Additional Reading:

How To Make Your Home Safe as You Age

Promedcare

Our goal is to keep you or your loved one healthy, happy, and safe at home. The Promedcare team of management and caregivers understands the importance of providing care within the comfort of one’s own home. Families choose Promedcare for different reasons.

For some, it’s to provide extensive ongoing care for an aging senior. For others, we offer a much-needed break or, respite care – such as a night out with a spouse, vacation, or simply a few hours of quiet time at home – for family members who provide regular care. We offer a wide range of care services customized for each individual client.

Promedcare services include Personal Care Services, Companion Care Services, Dementia / Alzheimer’s Care Services, and Respiratory Solutions.

Contact us today to see how Prodmedcare can help you!