Prevent 300,000 Fall-Related Hospitalizations with Simple Aging in Place Home Modifications According to Lisa M. Cini

According to the latest the AARP-sponsored University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging, nearly 90 percent of adults over 65 want to live in their current homes as they age. However, less than 60 percent have considered the home modifications necessary to safely age in place. America’s leading aging expert Lisa M. Cini has compiled a list of simple home modifications to prevent falling, maintain balance while they remain in their homes.

Cini says, “When merging design with technology senior living is transformative. For example, in 2021, almost 100,000 adults over 65 were hospitalized from fall-related injuries. Each year the CDC estimates at least 300,000 older people are hospitalized for hip fractures and more than 95% of hip fractures are caused by falling. Most of these were preventable. Keeping accessibility, functionality, and efficiency in mind can help aging adults maintain independence in a safe comfortable environment.”

Lisa’s Simple Home Modifications to prevent falls:

1. Keep Things Within Reach including a phone, anything on a high shelf or on another floor that you may need, in other words, don’t stretch or balance on step ladders to reach things you need daily as it can lead to falls. Avoid carrying too much at one time as this can set you off balance.
2. Get Safe with Smart Flooring, it’s essential to prevent falls. Invest in anti-slip tiles for bathrooms and kitchens to avoid sliding on water or polished surfaces and make sure all rugs have anti-slip mats underneath to avoid slipping across the floor. Consider a contrasting color for steps and rails to make them easier to see. And make sure to wear well-fitting shoes and slippers. Avoid flip-flops and flimsy footwear as these easily lead to trips and slips. Shaw Floor’s Sole with SensFloor® technology incorporates a safe and discreet sensor in the flooring that alerts caregivers if a loved one accidentally falls, and this integrated safety tool can also work with lighting controls to illuminate a space when movement is detected.
3. Consider Motion Activated Lighting. Install lighting equipped with sensors to come on when movement is detected, especially on stairs and in bathrooms. For example, the WILLED Bed Light is a dimmable motion-activated bed light 5ft LED strip with a motion sensor and power adapter. This energy-efficient light is easy to install and will automatically turn on when it detects motion and automatically turns off when you leave. And the GeriGuard Night Light Surface Tray is a sleek modern spill-resistant light source that can be placed on top of any standard night table. The tray, while designed for anyone is especially helpful for aging adults, visually impaired people and those suffering from memory loss because it provides immediate focus, reduces disorientation upon waking in the middle of the night and does not require getting out of bed to turn on the lights.
4. Make the Garden Safe. Gardens are full of hazards so make sure your green space is as safe as possible. Clear moss and old leaves from the paths to minimize the risk of slippery spaces. When it’s icy, make sure you lay some grit and have someone clear your paths. Avoid too many pots and ornaments as they are easy to trip over and install lighting so you can see your way along paths in the dark. Remember that you don’t have to do all the work in the garden or house yourself; you can get help from others to do the heavier jobs, which lessens your risk of falling. A modern-day pergola from StruXure can even sense rain and automatically close the louvers.
5. Remove Clutter. Clearing clutter from steps and floors helps you avoid slips and trips. Don’t leave things lying around on the floor where they can cause a hazard. And avoid trailing wires when using electrical items.
6. Try Posture Exercises. Join a Pilates / Yoga class or other exercise program designed to help you avoid falling by maintaining good balance, core strength and posture techniques. Some exercises are chair-based, but most are gentle and set at a pace that the group can follow. Give yourself time to adjust when moving from a sitting position to avoid dizziness from changes in blood pressure. Home fitness and new exercise equipment like Ecore offers a dynamic twist to the gym with their Forest Rx and FITturf flooring surfaces using its TRU™ technology, ideal for reducing impact and the risk of injury, supporting joints, and mitigating noise while performing multi-purpose fitness exercises. Smartfit offers a dual-tasking gamification machine that assists with cognition, balance, and recovery, and Lifetime Vibe, based on NASA technology, provides a safe vibration plate that increases balance and helps with many senior-related ailments from Parkinson’s to arthritis. Tape by Ever Life Designs and Tonal are all senior-friendly and help to promote safe workouts, balance, and cognition.
7. Install Handrails to Keep You Steady. Have a handrail in all high-risk places, like the shower or stairs. It’s a simple adjustment to prevent falls. Bathroom Grab Bars: The Grabcessories Bath Safety Kit comes with one 2-in-1 Grab Bar Toilet Paper Holder with Grips, one 2-in-1 Grab Bar Towel Bar with Grips and one 16" Decorative Curved Safety Grab Bar with Grips. Each of these non-corrosive stainless steel hardware items can support up to 500lbs and comes with the exclusive LiveSafe Hollow Wall Anchors and LiveSafe Stud Mount Flanges so you can mount Grabcessories on any wall.
8. Make Your Bathroom Safe and Functional: Falls happen most frequently in the bathroom. Today’s bathroom can include the Assisto bathtub, which features an easily accessible and ergonomic design that reduces the risk of injury and falls. Brondell’s Swash 1400 Electronic Bidet Toilet Seats feature self-sterilizing, stainless-steel nozzles, and a safety seat sensor. Pressalit provides equally convenient height-adjustable sinks with support arms, toilets, and shower systems that are customized to each user’s body type and mobility level. JACLO’s stylish, luxurious grab bars from their Contempo collection elevates the restroom with its innovative hand shower and integrated washcloth holder. Delta Faucet’s age-friendly, touchless faucets and fixtures, Pellet’s Design by Intent elegant shower seats, handrails, and non-electric height-adjustable sink, as well as Ever Life Designs’ elegant toilet paper with phone holder, grab bars, and shower seats are also good options. LiveWell’s grab bars enhance the shower, toilet, and the area over the toilet—they’re designed to be right where you need them but do not look institutional. LED under counter and door lighting provide the perfect nightlight, and cabinet doors that hide under the sink allow for wheelchair access, while Shaw’s Sole with SensFloor® alerts of any falls in the bathrooms. Zero height floor drains by Oatey reduce trip hazards while getting in and out of the shower.
9. Voice-Controlled Assistance Devices: Play music, make calls, set music alarms and timers, ask questions, control smart home devices, and more—instantly with the Amazon Echo Smart Speaker with Alexa. With the Echo, sit back, relax and ask Alexa to check your calendar, weather, traffic, and sports scores, manage to-do and shopping lists, brighten your smart lights, change your thermostats, open/close your garage doors, turn off your sprinklers, turn on your TV, order you a pizza and more.

“Taking these few easy steps to make your living space safer will help you avoid falls and stay independent for longer in your home,” says Cini. “Adopting technology is essential to helping aging adults prevent falls, maintaining their independence and quality of life.”

About Lisa M. Cini:

Interior designer and aging expert Lisa M. Cini ASID, IIDA, is the award-winning President / CEO of Mosaic Design Studio and author of BOOM: The Baby Boomers' Guide to Preserving Your Freedom and Thriving as You Age in Place; The Future is Here: Senior Living Re-imagined, and Hive, The Simple Guide to Multigenerational Living: How Our Family Makes it Work. Lisa is also the founder of BestLivingTech.com offering tech products that help seniors embrace aging and living independently, Preserve Your Independent Lifestyle & Thrive.

For more information on Lisa M. Cini, visit www.lisamcini.com. and to book reservations at the Woodland Manor Mansion/Werner House, the First-of-its-Kind Technology Showplace Allowing Seniors to Experience the Future of Design for Senior Living & Aging in Place please visit www.infinite-living.org.

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