When you are planning on getting senior home care for you or someone in your family, you must ensure that your home is safe for them and can support them and their health issues, enabling them to live a full and independent life for longer. As such, here are some of the home improvements to make before getting home care.
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Organize Your Home
The first step that you should take when you are going to be inviting a caregiver into your home is to clean up and organize your home. For instance, you might want to put some of your precious and breakable possessions into storage to prevent them from accidentally being knocked off a surface.
You should also make sure that you take away any unnecessary furniture and ensure that everything has a place within your home. This can ensure that your caregiver can find what they need, such as cleaning products and medications and can make sure that they have the space that they need to carry out the tasks in question without your possessions getting in the way. As such, if you are looking for a home care service that can allow your loved one to stay in their reassured home, you should look around for private duty home care.
Make Home Adaptations
The second step that you should take to get your home ready for home care is to install home adaptations. For instance, you might consider placing a stairlift in your home that can allow you to get between the levels of your home when your mobility declines.
You might also decide to place rails around your home to support your movements and prevent falls, and you might consider installing a ramp outside your front door that you can use if you have a wheelchair or find stairs difficult. This can help your home care professional to do their job and to protect you from the risks around your home.
Create a Safe Home
You should also try to create a comfortable environment for your loved one by ensuring that you put certain safety measures in place. For instance, you should take up rugs, wires, and other trip hazards that can leave them calling for emergency help, and you should make sure that they have smoke alarms installed that can alert them to fire and danger within their homes. You should also ensure that you have installed locks on the door and an alarm system to avoid your loved one being a victim of a burglary or from having an intruder within their home.
One of the most important things you can do to make your home safe for your elderly loved one is installing in-home monitoring systems for seniors . These systems allow family and friends to keep an eye on your loved one 24/7, even if you’re away on vacation. They also offer peace of mind in the event that something happens in your loved one’s home. If there is any sign that danger is present, the system will automatically send an alert to the person responsible for caring for the elderly loved one.
Keep Their Home Their Home
Some people go too far and end up turning their loved one’s home into a medical facility, as they believe that this will help the caregiver to do their job. However, this is not the case, and to keep your loved one feeling comfortable, you should still try to make the house as homely as possible. For instance, you could hang up pictures and art around the walls, display their favorite ornaments and souvenirs, and ensure that there are beautiful soft furnishings, such as curtains and blankets, around.