Best Ways to Reduce Fall Risk in the Bedroom
Elderly Care in Ada MI
The bedroom is an important area of your parent’s home when it comes to their care. This is where your loved one rests and restores themselves, where they recover from injuries and illnesses, 
and where they may handle tasks such as dressing and grooming. Keeping this room as safe as possible helps your parent to stay relaxed, healthy, and comfortable in their home as they age in place.
One of the most important elements of keeping your parent’s bedroom safer is reducing fall risk. Falls are the leading cause of detrimental injury to aging adults. In fact, one in three seniors over the age of 64 will experience a fall each year and many of these will end up requiring extensive medical treatment. Reducing fall risk can help your parent to maintain more independence and enjoy a healthier, happier quality of life throughout their later years.
Some ways that you can help to reduce your parent’s fall risk in the bedroom include:
- Lower the bed. Some beds are elevated very high in the air. While this creates storage under the bed and can look wonderful, it also creates a possible fall risk. If your loved one has mobility or balance issues they may have difficulty getting into and out of the bed. Seniors with health issues such as Parkinson’s disease can sleep restlessly, tossing and turning at night. This can cause your loved one to fall out of the bed. Lowering the bed makes it easier for your senior to get into and out of the bed safely and confidently.
- Equip the room. Seniors are at increased risk of falling when they are tired and low lighting can further increase the risk of falls. Help to reduce this risk by equipping the room to handle your parent’s needs at night. For a senior with mobility or balance issues, having a toilet chair in the room eliminates the need to walk to the bathroom. A glass of water by the bedside and an extra blanket folded at the foot of the bed further eliminate the need to walk out of or around the room at night.
- Make lighting accessible. Having good lighting helps to reduce the risk of a fall by increasing visibility and reducing shadows. When your parent has to walk across the room from the bed to turn the light on, however, the benefit of that light is lessened. Improve the visibility of the room and eliminate the need for your parent to walk through a dark room by adding light sources that can be turned on and off both at the door to the room and from the bed.
If you are concerned about your parent’s safety in their home, an elderly care provider can make a tremendous difference in their independence, safety, and comfort. This elder home care services provider can help your loved one to manage their individual challenges in the way that is right for them, from providing hands-on assistance to helping them to modify activities and tasks so that they can handle them on their own.
If you or someone you know needs help with elderly care in Ada, MI, contact Gauthier Family Home Care. We provide quality and affordable home care services in our community. Call us at (616) 258-2300 for more information.
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