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Tag: Senior Safety

Nighttime Fall Prevention for Senior Citizens

Posted on by Craig Bass
Home Care in Summerlin NV
Home Care in Summerlin NV

You may already know that senior citizens have a higher risk of falling than younger adults. However, did you know that many senior citizens have a higher risk of falling during the nighttime hours than during the daytime? There are many different reasons for this. However, there are also many ways that you and home care providers can work together to help with nighttime fall prevention for your elderly loved one.

Proper Bedding Placement

One of the reasons why senior citizens often fall during the night is because they trip over their bedding. For example, if your elderly loved one needs to get up to use the bathroom at night, they might trip over the edge of their blanket and fall in their bedroom. This could lead to a serious injury. It is important that your elderly loved one’s bedding isn’t stuck under their mattress, so their legs or feet don’t get stuck in the blanket when they try to get up. It is also important they don’t have any blankets on the floor, as well. You or home care providers can go into your elderly loved one’s bedroom each night, before they go to bed, to ensure the blankets are where they should be.

Good Lighting

Another way that you or an elder care provider can help to prevent nighttime falls for your elderly loved one is by ensuring there is good lighting in their bedroom and house. Improper or low lighting can prevent your elderly loved one from seeing where they are walking during the night. If they can’t see well, it could cause them to trip on carpeting, cords, or other things that are in the walkway. You or home care providers can check often to ensure each light in the house has working bulbs that are bright enough for your elderly loved one to see.

Better Flooring

If you are trying to help prevent nighttime falls for your elderly loved one, you should check on the flooring in their house. For example, if they have a lot of runners, lifted carpets, or loose rugs, these could all be fall hazards. It is crucial that someone ensures these are properly stapled or taped down to help prevent falls. If there are any loose rugs, you could also replace those with slip-resistant rugs.

Conclusion

These are some of the nighttime fall prevention tips for senior citizens. As a family caregiver, hopefully, you can work with home care providers to help take care of these things in your elderly loved one’s home. By doing so, you can significantly reduce the risk of them falling at night.

Sources
https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/healthy-aging/in-depth/fall-prevention/art-20047358

If you are considering home care in Summerlin, NV, for an aging loved one, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Summerlin. 702-800-4616.

Tips for Making an Emergency Checklist for Your Senior

Posted on by Craig Bass
Senior Home Care in Henderson NV
Senior Home Care in Henderson NV

As you are taking care of your elderly loved one, take some time to think about what they will do if there is an emergency and nobody is around. What would you do if you were with your elderly loved one and they had an emergency? It is important to have a plan. One of the things that you may want to do is to create an emergency checklist with your elderly loved one, so they can be more prepared in case of an emergency.

Writing Down Personal Information

One of the most important things to add to your elderly loved one’s emergency checklist is their personal information including:

  • Name
  • Phone number
  • Doctors
  • Medication allergies
  • Medication list
  • Treatments they are receiving
  • Religious affiliations or preferences (if any)
  • Emergency contacts

If all of this information is kept in an accessible place, if you or a senior home care are with your elderly loved one when they have an emergency, you will be able to inform the medics who arrive of the important things.

Who to Contact

If your elderly loved one has a medical emergency, it is important that certain people are contacted. For example, if your elderly loved one is being picked up by the ambulance for heart issues and they have a cardiologist, it is very important that this doctor is contacted right away. The sooner your elderly loved one’s doctors are contacted, the sooner they can work with emergency medical personnel to help your elderly loved one.

Health Concerns

If your elderly loved one is getting a new senior home care provider, it is crucial they know about your elderly loved one’s health concerns. For example, if your elderly loved one has allergies to certain foods or needs medication reminders because they won’t remember to take their nightly medications, these are things the senior home providers need to know.

Having an Advance Directive

Who will be in charge of your elderly loved one’s care or medical decisions if they are unable to do so? This should be thought about well before there is an emergency. One of the things you can work with your elderly loved one is making an advance directive. The advance directive can help to ensure the doctors know who is responsible for medical choices on behalf of your elderly loved one. It can also help to ensure your elderly loved one’s wishes regarding their medical needs are met.

Conclusion

These are some of the best tips for making a senior citizen an emergency checklist. You can use these tips to help create this type of checklist for your elderly loved one. If you need more information about how to create this checklist or what to put on it, you can talk to medical professionals including your elderly loved one’s doctor.

Sources
https://www.cdc.gov/features/older-adult-emergency/index.html
https://acl.gov/programs/emergency-preparedness

If you are considering senior home care in Henderson, NV, for an aging loved one, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Summerlin. 702-800-4616.

Home-Monitoring Technology: Is it a Good Idea for the Elderly?

Posted on by Craig Bass
Elder Care in Henderson NV
Elder Care in Henderson NV

Are you taking care of your elderly loved one? If so, are there days when you can’t make it to their house? Maybe, you even live quite far away and can only visit with your elderly loved one about once a month. If this is the case, Elder Home-monitoring technology may be a good idea.

Fell in the Past

Has your elderly loved one ever fallen in their house? Sure, they may claim it was just a slight misstep. However, studies show that elderly people who fall once are more likely to fall again. They may be worried about falling which can make their balance even worse. If your elderly loved one has fell in the past, it may be time to get home-monitoring technology. There are necklaces, bands, and bracelets they can wear. If they do fall or if they feel as if something isn’t right, they can push the button on the device. It can alert you, an elder care provider, or the police.

Spending a Lot of Time Alone

How much time does your elderly loved one spend on their own? Many senior citizens go days or even weeks without seeing another person. This can lead to a lot of issues. If this is the case for your elderly loved one, it may be a good idea to have a home camera system installed. With some of these camera systems, you can talk to your elderly loved one through them and they can talk back. It can be a great way to communicate and to visually see what is going on at your elderly loved one’s house.

Watching for Cognitive Issues

Another reason why you may want to get home-monitoring technology for your elderly loved one is to watch for cognitive issues. If you aren’t there often, you may miss out on the signs of dementia or other cognitive conditions. While a home camera system can’t replace face-to-face check-ins, it can be a great help during the times you can’t be there to see your elderly loved one. If you do start noticing issues, you can hire elder care providers to care for your elderly loved one.

Conclusion

These are some of the reasons why you might want to get home-monitoring technology for your elderly loved one. Now that you know how beneficial this type of technology could be for them, you can start looking into which systems or products to get.

Sources
https://www.cms.gov/newsroom/press-releases/cms-takes-action-modernize-medicare-home-health-0
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK315926/

If you are considering elder care in Henderson, NV for an aging loved one, please contact the caring staff at Golden Heart Senior Care of Summerlin. 702-800-4616.