VBJ March 18 online

March 2018
THE VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL
www.TheValleyBusinessJournal.com
9
Keeping Your Aging Parent’s
Home Safe
Provided by John and Christine Hamby
It is important to keep everyone
safe in your family. It’s especially
important when it comes to your aging
parents. FirstLight Home Care has put
together a list of safety tips to help
prevent falls and accidents and keep
your parent’s home safe.
Start with the exterior of their
home. Walk around the home to check
out the condition of sidewalks, handrails,
lighting and vegetation or shrubs.
Uneven sidewalks, loose handrails,
poor lighting and overgrown landscaping
could become a trip hazard. Move
and put away outdoor furniture, flower
pots and gardening tools that could
obstruct their pathway.
Secure all points of entry. Inspect
all windows and doors for weak
or faulty locking mechanisms. Make
sure they lock properly. During the
summer months, be sure to secure any
window air conditioning units with a
metal bracket, sliding window locks
or steel corner braces to prevent them
from being pushed into or pulled out
of the home. Make sure your parents
are locking all windows and doors and
that they are not leaving a back door
unlocked or a window open when
they’re not at home, are home alone or
at night before they go to bed.
Check exterior lighting on their
property. The front porch lights
should be strong enough to illuminate
the entrance and front yard. Other
lighting around the exterior – near the
garage, backdoor or alley – should
also be lit. Motion sensors for exterior
lights can be helpful because they don’t
require your parents to remember to
turn on or off.
Move inside and check around
the home. This is the place your aging
parents will spend most of their
time. It is important to check the ease
and accessibility to all rooms in their
home. Make sure furniture is not obstructing
walkways. Remove throw
rugs to avoid tripping. Reposition floor
lamps so that they don’t trip on cords.
Purchase nightlights and place them
throughout the house in case they get
up at night. Clear away all things from
the floor, including things like pet toys
and bedding, stacks of newspapers
or magazines. Make sure stairs have
secure handrails on both sides of the
stairs and that the end of the stairs
is clearly marked (top and bottom).
Check that smoke and carbon-monoxide
detectors are working.
Once you have assessed the exterior
and interior of the home, and fixed
necessary issues, it’s now time to talk
to your parents about home safety.
Walk them through the changes that
have been made, discuss their needs
and concerns about their safety while
living independently in their home, and
continue to modify and discuss their
needs as time goes on.
For more information on how to
keep your aging parent’s safe while
living independently, visit https://
www.firstlighthomecare.com/
This article is provided by John and
Christine Hamby, Owner, FirstLight
Home Care of Temecula. For more
information, visit us online at www.
temecula.FirstLightHomeCare.com or
call us at 951-395-0821.
Remove throw rugs
to avoid tripping.
Reposition floor lamps
so that they don’t trip
on cords.