Make changes to keep mother safe from falls

I work with many clients in the Sun City communities. Recently I’ve been asked to do safety evaluations in their homes because they’ve had friends or family members take nasty falls. There are so many things we don’t think about, especially when we’ve lived in our home for many years.

My own mother took a couple bad falls because of area rugs and having her recliner too close to her breakfast bar, even though I talked to her about these things many times. Why is it that we never listen to family? I wrote this article back in 2011 so I thought it was time to share again.

Dear Gail: My mom is 85 and coming to live with me. She’s had a couple of falls and just can’t be by herself any longer. Besides decorating her room to her liking, what other things do I need to consider? — Eunice.

Dear Eunice: It’s wonderful that you’re having your mother come live with you; it’s not something everyone can do. There’s a lot of things we don’t think of that really need to be changed in our homes when older adults come to live. It’s all about safety.

One thing in particular is to remove as many, if not all, of your area rugs and any small scatter rugs you have around. Statistics show that 65 percent of older adults end up dying from complications of a fall, and rugs are the main reason for the fall. And did you know that 50 percent of older adults who fall break their hips and die within the first year of the accident?

So first, I’d suggest removing any rugs in your kitchen. Your mother will be in and out and possibly not paying attention when she’s going from the refrigerator to the sink.

In her bathroom, I’d suggest replacing or covering the floor with carpet or at least a room-size rug. It is very common for older adults to trip coming out of the shower or tub. They step on the rug and it slips out from under them.

If you have area rugs in other parts of the house, make sure to properly tape them down to the floor if you’re not going to remove them. Especially watch any area rugs you have in walkways and those in your furniture groupings.

As we age, we all need more light to see. The lens in our eye hardens and starts to yellow, like a newspaper, letting less light in. The Illuminating Engineering Society reported that those 65 and older need twice as much light as before. So turn on all the lights in your room; add wherever you have dark areas and increase the wattage of your bulbs.

Older adults adapt more slowly to changing light conditions so having as much natural light as possible helps when turning on additional light. Higher levels of daylight also improve sleeping habits and reduce the possibility of depression.

Lighting in the bedroom and walkways are two main areas of concern. The switch by the entry must be connected to a light that goes on without having to walk across the room to turn it on. A light should be located by the bed so your mother can turn it on and off when getting up in the middle of the night. Consider installing wall sconces that are on separate switches from the main room lights.

I would also consider using motion sensor lights in the bedroom and walkways. It’s not a bad idea for everyone to have whether older adults are living with you or not. They really help when you’re getting up in the middle of the night and don’t want to turn on the lights and wake up the person next to you.

Furniture arrangement also is extremely important. Is there a clear path in and out of your furniture arrangements? I’ve seen many homes with baskets of magazines on the floor by a chair. Slipping on newspapers, magazines and loose papers is a high risk in an older adult’s home.

How far away is the coffee table from the sofa? Too close and they may fall when trying to get up and out. Are there electrical and phone cords exposed in walkways? Those are hazards I’ve seen many times.

Another item we don’t think about is where the telephone is located. I know this isn’t a design issue, but it can sure become a fall hazard. The phone rings, they get up quickly and sometimes lose their balance from being dizzy, then run to the phone and trip and fall.

It’s so easy to have multiple handsets around the house. There should be at least one next to where they sit, on their night stand and any other place they spend a lot of their time.

There are many others things that you need to consider, but I only have so much room. For more information, go to AARP’s website and order the AARP Home Fit Guide for free.

Right now more than ever before, form follows function. Make safety the No. 1 concern in your home. Think of any times you might have tripped or had trouble seeing and make a change before your mom comes.

Gail Mayhugh, owner of GMJ Interiors, is a professional interior designer and author of a book on the subject. Questions may be sent by email to: GMJinteriors@gmail.com. Or, mail to: 7380 S. Eastern Ave., No. 124-272, Las Vegas, NV 89123. Her Web address is: www.GMJinteriors.com.