Living Room Safety for Your Elderly Loved One
Home Care Services Chester PA
Your elderly loved one likely spends quite a bit of time in the living room. Making sure the room is as safe as it can be for her can give you a great deal of peace of mind.
Lose the Clutter
Clutter has various degrees, of course, but if your elderly loved one keeps running into furniture or other items, it’s time to move as many of them as possible. Make sure that your loved one has a clear path to travel through the room and that there aren’t a lot of unnecessary items hanging around.
Reduce the Cords
If electrical cords are contributing to the clutter in your loved one’s home, it’s time to move them. This is especially true if any cords cut across a path in the room at all. If your loved one is using a variety of extension cords, you may want to bring an electrician in to have a good look at the wiring and investigate other options.
Rearrange the Furniture if Necessary
Your elderly loved one may have had her furniture arranged a specific way for a long time, but if it doesn’t make sense anymore, it may be time to move things around. Clear a path for your loved one to walk safely through the room. If there’s too much furniture in the room, it’s definitely time to pare down a bit.
Double Check Fireplaces
Fireplaces can be a spot of concern for family caregivers. If the fireplace is a wood fireplace, check the flue to make sure that it’s closed and remove anything that doesn’t need to be used. For hearths that are sharp, consider covering them to make them a little less likely to cause damage. Gas fireplaces can present a different problem because your loved one may be able to turn on the gas on her own, causing a hazard. Do what you can to lock down the gas fireplace and make it as safe as possible.
Add Lighting
For loved ones with vision problems, lighting can often make a bigger difference than you might think. Add lights near where your loved one sits often, for example, and make sure that the light is easy for your loved one to turn on for herself. If the bulbs or fixtures in the room need updating, you might be surprised how much like they provide afterward.
Check Glare
Another potential problem can happen when your loved one gets blinded by glare from windows or mirrors. This can be a bigger problem both early and late in the day when the sun’s rays come into the room from an angle or reflect off things outside. Check out potential causes for glare and reduce the likelihood that your loved one will be affected.
Work with your loved one’s home care services provider to ensure that the living room is as safe as you can make it for your loved one.
If you or an aging loved one are considering Home Care Services in Chester PA, please contact the caring staff at True Direct Home Health Care today.
Doc, as he is called by everyone - staff, patients and clients - first experienced home health care and hospice care while as a colleg student at King's College as he cared for his mother every day while she first battled COPD and then lung cancer. It was during this time that he came to understand that caring for a patient was more than just clinical expertise.
"Admittedly, my strongest attribute is my communication skills and the simple fact that I love to help people. Even the smallest thing you can do for someone really can mean so much to them long term. In fact, it could change them forever. That's what providing quality personal home health care should be all about."
In his spare time, he cooks for homeless shelters and children's music and arts events. He also is highly involved in his local youth sports soccer academy as a coach and Board member.
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