At Assisting Hand Home Care, we love what we do because we take pride in seeing our neighbors comfortable and at peace in their homes. A caregiver can provide a helping hand to make your home a safe and practical space for you to age in place.

Before beginning services, we recommend a home safety evaluation from an agency representative. This assessment can even be performed by a friend or family member, using some of the tips you’ll see in the article below. When beginning home care services, it’s not unusual for the care recipient to be resistant at first. You may disagree on the number of hours the caregiver will stay, if they need care at all, or other big ticket items. The home safety items, on the other hand, should be no-brainers. They are simple modifications that are imperative to achieving our mutual goal: helping you live happy and healthy at home!

Why our Homes Matter!
Home Safety in Reducing Falls Risk

By: Meredith Smith, PT, DPT

Prioritizing strategies to minimize falls is an important and necessary part of returning to the home and preventing rehospitalization. There are many factors that may contribute to a fall. While some of these factors are non-modifiable such as the natural aging processes, the home environment is modifiable and can significantly reduce one’s risk of falling. Here are some considerations and home adjustments that you and your caretaker can make to ensure your home is a safer place, and thus a more accessible place. This list is not exhaustive, but rather a resource to begin the conversation about how to make your home setup more appropriate:

1. Lighting

As we age, our visual acuity in the dark decreases due to natural aging processes that alter structures and muscles within our eyes. This means it is extremely important that all entrances, room transitions, stairs, and hallways have appropriate lighting.

• Install automatic lights to illuminate:
  • Steps to home entrance
  • Entrances or thresholds into home
  • In the garage and near the trash bins
  • Pathway into home entrance from garage or street
• Ensure lights within home are located:
  • Within foyer or mudroom (especially if this is where one takes off their shoes and jackets)
  • Along or above stairs up to second floor
  • Along or above stairs down to basement
  • Within laundry room to more easily see controls on machines
• Use nightlights to illuminate:
  • A path from bedroom to bathroom
  • The sink and toilet in the bathroom

2. Transitions and Stairs

Many homes have steps to enter and stairs within the home. Traveling up and down stairs requires more strength and balance than walking on a flat surface, so it is vitally important to have a safe stair set-up to prevent falls.

• Reduce clutter and do not leave items on steps that occupy space
• Install rails for stairs within the home and steps outside the home
• Use color variations to increase visual acuity:
  • Use colored tape to draw attention to any threshold elevation
  • Change stair flooring color to be different than level floor color
• Ensure ramps to enter the home have flat surfaces, smooth transitions, and rails

3. Floors

More on the floor means more to trip on. Making sure the floor environment is organized will reduce that chance of you or a loved one falling over objects that may not be in your direct line of vision.

• Reduce clutter by removing small items off the floor and placing them on tables or cabinets instead
• Remove all wires away from walking path
  • Extension cords can be used to increase wire length and allow wires to be tucked behind furniture
• Tack down carpet edges and use carpet runners to minimize creases that can be a tripping hazards

4. Room Specifics

Each room has a specific purpose, and each room may require different set-up variations based on the furniture or appliances within.

• Kitchen
  • Remove items from high and hard to reach cabinets
  • Ensure step stools are sturdy and safe
  • Use pet gates to keep animals out of the kitchen when cooking
  • Use timers and alarms to indicate if oven and cooktop are on or ready
  • Have good lighting and remove clutter from counter tops for more room and maneuverability when preparing meals
  • Remove all cloth items (including towels and curtains) from cooktop where they might catch fire
  • Make sure all fire alarms are working properly and a phone available in case of emergencies
• Bedroom
  • Ensure the bed height is appropriate for sitting to standing transfers
  • Install supportive devices to assist with transfer out of bed if needed
  • Have assistive devices close to the bed if needed
  • Keep a phone at the bedside table in care of emergencies
  • Make sure clothes are easily accessible in drawers or closets
• Bathroom
  • Use Non-skid mats in shower/tub unit and bath rugs to prevent slipping
  • Use appropriate equipment in shower including:
    • Shower chair within shower/tub unit
    • Grab bars to enter and within shower/tub unit
  • Ensure shower curtain is not a tripping hazard
  • Adjust the toilet height to the appropriate level
    • Use elevated toilet seat equipment to raise seat level
    • Use grab bars near toilet to help with smooth transfers
    • Make sure toilet paper is easily accessible

Rodriguez, Oscar E. “Age SAFE® Certifications – Age Safe® America: Senior Home Safety: Aging in Place.” Age Safe® America | Senior Home Safety | Aging in Place, 15 Mar. 2022.

“Home Safety Self Assessment Tool – Tompkins County NY.” Home Safety Self Assessment Tool (HSSAT) V.3, 2011.

Dautzenberg, Lauren, et al. “Interventions for Preventing Falls and Fall‐Related Fractures in Community‐Dwelling Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Network Meta‐Analysis.” Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, vol. 69, no. 10, 2021, pp. 2973–2984

At Assisting Hands Home Care^®, we are Senior Home Safety Specialists!

The Assisting Hands Home Care^® team is dedicated to prioritizing you and your loved one’s safety. That is why we have multiple Certified Home Safety Specialists on our staff. Prior to partnering with you or your loved one for home care, a representative from Assisting Hands will complete a Home Safety Evaluation and provide suggestions on how to improve your home environment to be as accessible and safe as possible. Each Assisting Hands Caretaker is also educated and trained during our formal training and orientation process on how to maintain this safe home environment. Our mission is to prioritize your safety, and this includes preventing hospital readmission due to a fall.

Have you Heard of the Modification for Accessibility Act?

The Modification for Accessibility Act (H.R.7676) was introduced to Congress in May of 2022 by Representative Charlie Crist (D-FL-13). Along with support from the HomesRenewed^TM Coalition, Representative Thomas R. Suozzi (D-NY-3) and Representative Daniel Meuser (R-PA-9) are current cosponsors of the bill. This bill proposes tax incentives for seniors and those with disabilities to invest in home improvements that will improve the safety of the home environment. This will allow for accessible and comfortable living in one’s home for as long as possible rather than in a skilled nursing facility. Under this legislation, individuals will be able to draw funds from early retirement plans penalty free and a lifetime tax deductible of up to $30,000 to pay for home improvement and modifications reducing medical costs associated with falls. Read more about this proposed bill below:

Link to learn more about H.R.7676

Rep. Charlie Crist H.R.7676 Press Release

Unsafe Housing for an Aging America; HomesRenewed Coalition White Paper