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Making home safer for an older adult who has difficulty walking, seeing clearly, or some other disabling condition means making a home safer for everyone who lives in the house. Since falls in older adults accounts for the leading cause of disability and impairment for older adults, often a few simple adjustments will prevent injury. Changes made now can also prepare for the future to accommodate increasing disability.
Simple home changes
1. Remove unnecessary furniture.2. Arrange the remaining furniture to allow enough space for someone to walk through easily and wide enough for a walker or wheelchair.
3. Don’t rearrange furniture after the person in your care has grown accustomed to its placement without their knowledge and consideration of their preference.
4. Adjust furniture so it will not move if leaned on.
5. Ensure that a favorite chair has armrests that are long enough to help the person get up and down.
6. Remove stacks of books, newspapers and other hazards.
7. Move low tables and barriers out of the pathway.
8. Cushion sharp corners on furniture, cabinets, and vanities using tape or thin padding.
9. Make chair seats 20” high. (Place wood blocks or a wooden platform under large, heavy furniture.)
10. Increase lighting; especially at night by using automatic night-lights in hallways, kitchen and other areas the person may need during the night.
11. Check smoke alarm batteries at least twice a year.
12. Place a fire extinguisher in the kitchen.
13. Consider the need for monitors and intercoms. If installed, does the person know how to use the equipment?
14. Place non-skid tape on the edges of stairs to create contrast that someone can see clearly to prevent falling.
15. Set the telephone to ring the maximum number of times to avoid rushing to answer the phone.
16. Leave the answering machine on high volume so the person can hear and screen incoming messages.
17. Call a carpenter for safety suggestions such as installing railings in places where a person might need extra support or other safety ideas.
18. For other safety suggestions, ask the doctor.
Call the Area Agency on Aging at 2-1-1 for possible assistance with modifications or further advice. Also, go online to Family Caregivers Online at www.familycaregiversonline.com. See the learning modules on Sensory Loss and Safety and Independence for a more complete list of safety tips.
By Zanda Hilger, adapting various other resources from professionals and online on behalf of Area Agencies on Aging Family Caregiver Education
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Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. ~Samuel Ullman
You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt; as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear; as young as your hope, as old as your despair. ~Douglas MacArthur
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Caregiver Education
Free seminars in your community. Email and request schedule
To schedule a caregiver seminar or have a guest speaker about caregiving, please send email to
Caregiver Conferences
Save the Dates
Details in coming issues
Friday, April 18, Weatherford, 8:30 am - 3:00 pm
Friday, May 16, Flower Mound, 8:30 am - 3:00 pm
Friday, September 19, Stephenville, 8:30 am - 3:00 pm
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Area Agencies on Aging, funded through the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS), provide information about help that a caregiver or older adult might receive. Call 2-1-1 for caregiver services and help for persons age 60 and older or contact the local Area Agency on Aging in your community