1. Make sure the home is well lit. The brighter the lights the better. Walk thru the house at night and make sure there is adequate lighting when it is dark. In the middle of the night is when it can be especially treacherous for seniors walking about the house.

2. Inspect the house to make sure objects are picked up off the floor. Clutter on the floor can be a real problem. It is common for pets to leave toys lying all about on the floor. That can be very dangerous for the elderly as well.

3. Be sure there are no loose rugs on the floors. Throw rugs can present hazards to anyone who has mobility challenges. They need to be removed.

4. Install grab bars in bathrooms in all areas your senior may need to hold on to. Showers and tubs especially need to have grab bars.

5. Speaking of the bathroom, it is not a bad idea to get rid of bars of soap and substitute these for hand dispensers of soap. Bars of soap can be slippery and difficult to deal with and hard to pick up if dropped, leading to falls.

6. Consider bringing tools into the home that are designed for the elderly, like big button telephones, computer keyboards with large letters, clocks that announce the time audibly.

7. Installing a carbon monoxide alarm can be helpful. Every home should have a smoke detector, but make sure it works and that the batteries are current in case of a power failure.

8. If they live alone a medical emergency pendant can be extremely helpful. These are personal alarm systems that are worn around the neck. If they encounter a problem or fall, they just push a button on the pendant and automatically a call goes out for help.

Driving Tips

Older drivers should avoid night driving, rush-hour driving, freeway driving or driving in dangerous conditions such as snow or rain storms. Planning a driving route ahead of any lengthy road trip is helpful.

If the older driver’s skills behind the wheel cannot be improved to a reasonable degree of safety, other alternatives to driving should be sought. Use of public and private transportation services, ride sharing, senior citizen shuttles, volunteer services, friends, family and neighbors are the most common options.

Another alternative is to limit the need for driving through home delivery whenever possible. Older drivers should remember that losing a small degree of independence does not compare to serious injury or death of oneself or any passenger.