Senior Fall Safety at Home – Checklist for Home Fall Prevention
Friday, September 3rd, 2010Author: William Burleson
FALLS AT HOME – Simple steps you can take!!!!!
Each year, thousands of older Americans fall at home. Many of them are seriously injured, and some are disabled. Falls are a leading cause of fatalities in older adults. Annually there are approximately 370,000 hip fractures. Falls are the major cause of 40% of nursing home admissions and subsequent costs to families. Falls are often due to hazards that are easy to overlook but easy to fix. This checklist will help you find and fix those hazards in your home.
Caregivers often ask for a checklist to review with seniors and their family’s. The checklist asks about hazards found in each room of your home. For each hazard, the checklist tells you how to fix the problem. At the end of the checklist, you’ll find other tips for preventing falls.
FLOORS: Look at the floor in each room.
Q: When you walk through a room, do you have to walk around furniture?
Ask someone to move the furniture so your path is clear.
Q: Do you have throw rugs on the floor?
Remove the rugs or use double-sided tape or a non-slip backing so the rugs won’t slip.
Q: Are there papers, books, towels, shoes, magazines, boxes, blankets, or other objects on the floor?
Pick up things that are on the floor. Always keep objects off the floor.
Q: Do you have to walk over or around wires or cords (like lamp, telephone, or extension cords)?
Coil or tape cords and wires next to the wall so you can’t trip over them. If needed, have an electrician put in another outlet.
STAIRS AND STEPS: Look at the stairs you use both inside and outside your home.
Q: Are there papers, shoes, books, or other objects on the stairs?
Pick up things on the stairs. Always keep objects off stairs.
Q: Are some steps broken or uneven?
Fix loose or uneven steps.
Q: Are you missing a light over the stairway?
Have an electrician put in an overhead light at the top and bottom of the stairs.
Q: Do you have only one light switch for your stairs (only at the top or at the bottom of the stairs)?
Have an electrician put in a light switch at the top and bottom of the stairs. You can get light switches that glow.
Q: Has the stairway light bulb burned out?
Have a friend or family member change the light bulb.
Q: Is the carpet on the steps loose or torn?
Make sure the carpet is firmly attached to every step, or remove the carpet and attach non-slip rubber treads to the stairs.
Q: Are the handrails loose or broken? Is there a handrail on only one side of the stairs?
Fix loose handrails or put in new ones. Make sure handrails are on both sides of the stairs and are as long as the stairs.
KITCHEN: Look at your kitchen and eating area.
Q: Are the things you use often on high shelves?
Move items in your cabinets. Keep things you use often on the lower shelves (about waist level).
Q: Is your step stool unsteady?
If you must use a step stool, get one with a bar to hold on to. Never use a chair as a step stool.
BATHROOMS: Look at all your bathrooms.
Q: Is the tub or shower floor slippery?
Put a non-slip rubber mat or self-stick strips on the floor of the tub or shower.
Q: Do you need some support when you get in and out of the tub or up from the toilet?
Have a carpenter put grab bars inside the tub and next to the toilet.
BEDROOMS: Look at all your bedrooms.
Q: Is the light near the bed hard to reach?
Place a lamp close to the bed where it’s easy to reach.
Q: Is the path from your bed to the bathroom dark?
Put in a night-light so you can see where you’re walking. Some night-lights go on by themselves after dark.
Other Things You Can Do to Prevent Falls
Exercise regularly. Exercise makes you stronger and improves your balance and coordination.
Have your doctor or pharmacist look at all the medicines you take, even over-the-counter medicines. Some medicines can make you sleepy or dizzy.
Have your vision checked at least once a year by an eye doctor. Poor vision can increase your risk of falling.
Get up slowly after you sit or lie down.
Wear shoes both inside and outside the house. Avoid going barefoot or wearing slippers.
Improve the lighting in your home. Put in brighter light bulbs. Florescent bulbs are bright and cost less to use.
It’s safest to have uniform lighting in a room. Add lighting to dark areas. Hang lightweight curtains or shades to reduce glare.
Paint a contrasting color on the top edge of all steps so you can see the stairs better. For example, use a light color paint on dark wood.
Other Safety Tips
Keep emergency numbers in large print near each phone.
Place mats in areas of the home like bathrooms and kitchens where surfaces are often wet
Utilize hip protection if you are unstable or prone to falls due to medications
Put a phone near the floor in case you fall and can’t get up.
Think about wearing an alarm device that will bring help in case you fall and can’t get up
This is to announce a tremendous saving in lives and medical costs of over 100 billion dollars yearly. Most of these savings can be achieved by reducing the risk of falls and protecting against the effect of falls particularly in the population now approaching 55 and above. New personal use technologies that are relatively unknown to some in the medical field and more often the public can easily eliminate these useless injuries and death.. National Center for Patient Safety recently recommended the use of these new approaches. We are receiving numerous requests to offer this information to the general public and we are willing to perform this public service.
The President of Medical Nurse Training, Mr. Devaney is available to speak to these new technologies and education for your program. Medical Nurse Training is the premier on line portal for accredited training of nurses and doctors utilizing a nationally known Geriatric Doctor, the Assistant Director of Nursing at Johns Hopkins and Patrick Devaney who has over 25 years experience lecturing on these topic to tens of thousands of nurses, doctors and healthcare facilities. Anyone who is above the age of 55 or has a relative, who is at risk for falls, is confused or agitated, has Alzheimer’s, or presents elopement risks at home will be very interested in this new material.
Mr. Devaney’s mother died as the result of an unnecessary hip fracture. This loss could have easily been prevented with one of these new devices or education techniques. Numerous lives have already been saved with these clinically proven devices.
Over 44 million baby boomers live at home with an elderly sick parent according to The Caring Alliance. Another 25 million at risk elderly live alone and unprotected from devastating falls. The current economic conditions have exacerbated these numbers. Since life expectancy has continued to increase this situation is likely to become even more prevalent. The faller may need to move in with adult children and adult children often have to take time off work to care for at risk parents. The costs emotionally and physically to the person who falls and their families is enormous.
Additionally, we have partnered with the leading manufacturers of these low cost medical technologies to provide these devices predominately available only through hospitals and nursing homes to the general public at an institutional prices. By going to www.MedicalNurseTraining.com and www.SaferFalls.com you can get a broad overview of the types of programs we offer to the medical community and review our blogs. We would welcome a discussion of how your program and listeners/viewers will greatly benefit from this information. This piece will be of interest to most if not all. These medically sound approaches will eventually get attention and will reduce government costs in the Billions of dollars over the next few years. You can also review clinical references on this site. Thank you for reviewing this important material. We look forward to working with you for the appearance on your program.
Medical Nurse Training provides the latest on-line training to Doctors and Nurses on fall prevention and protection. This includes in-house education on devices that will reduce injury from falls and related deaths and on-line education for those concerned about falls at home.
Hip Protectors – High Impact – absorbing pads that help protect hip bones against injury from falls. About 320,000 people suffer a hip fracture every year. These pads are built into brief’s, panties, sweat pants and sweat shorts. They can easily be laundered and re-used numerous times to help protect from falls. The use of these devices has been clinically proven to reduce injury. Many individuals that experience a fall are afraid to continue normal activities like walking. These devices help these people resume a normal life. Hip Fracture is one of the number one causes of death in older individuals. Our experience shows that hip protectors are generally not known by the general public
Fall and Home Exit Alarms – Inexpensive bed and chair exit electronic monitors otherwise known as Fall Alarms, assist with the observation of patients and family members to help reduce falls and the potential for elopement from home or a facility. A variety of sensor accessories may be used including toileting sensors, bed/chair sensors, infrared sensors and self releasing sensors may be attached to the monitor to reduce risk. These alarms include a gentle voice reminder not to get up without assistance. Many of these devices are unknown to the general public. Pendants to call caregivers when help is needed are also very useful.
Floor Cushions and Bath Mats – Certain areas of the home are very high risk for injury from falls like the bathroom. Special floor cushions and bath mats are designed to help reduce the impact from a fall and are frequently talked about in the clinical literature. These floor cushions are tri-fold in design, making them convenient to carry to areas requiring the most immediate protection. Bathrooms are also very high risk zones. The sure step bath mat can be used to significantly reduce the impact of a fall. The mat is impervious to water and bacterial growth and can be custom cut to fit the contours of any bathroom or floor.
Please go to www.MedicalNurseTraining.com and www.SaferFalls.com for more information on these programs and devices.