Wheelchair Ramps and Exterior Staircase Accessibility

When making a home more accessible, allowing for the user to safely enter and exit the home is essential. For those that use wheelchairs, walkers, or otherwise have difficulty getting around, navigating the front porch can be very difficult.

While there are a number of tools that can help make this exterior stairway easier to navigate, including outdoor stair lifts and vertical platform lifts, a wheelchair ramp is the most common and, often, least expensive device that can be installed to improve accessibility.

A stair lift, as well as other tools offer a number of advantages, but it is hard to beat the simplicity of a wheelchair ramp. Modular metal wheelchair ramps can be quite pricey, often a lot more than you would pay for an outdoor stair lift, but a wooden wheelchair ramp ends up being a cost effective solution. When built properly with quality materials, a wooden wheelchair ramp will last much longer than a stair lift and require less regular maintence.

Options for Improving Staircase Accessibility

The stairs present a very real and difficult obstacle to not just people who use wheelchairs, but also those who are affected by mobility related disorders, like arthritis. improving staircase safety quite literally starts at home and is driven by the individual needs of the individual. Depending on their abilities and needs, you can formulate a plan to help increase accessibility and improve safety.

Staircase Safety Tips for Seniors

For seniors and others with limited mobility, increasing staircase safety is quite important. There are a number of things, some of which are common sense and rather inexpensive, that can make the stairs not only safer, but also easier to use for the elderly. These safety tips focus on this goal of increasing safety and reducing the risk of a fall on the stairs, which is one of the most dangerous areas in the home for a senior.

Understanding and Mitigating the Staircase Risks

In the home, few areas present as many risks or are the cause of as many injuries as the staircase. For the elderly, falls on the stairs are exceptionally common and very often cause serious injury. These sorts of injuries, such as a broken hip, can be very hard to recover from for the elderly, with over 50% requiring some sort of assisted living situation after a serious injury. This is why preventing these falls is so important.

There is no single factor or tool that can be used to prevent falls on the stairs, with a multi-pronged approach being the safest and most effective. This involves understanding the abilities of the senior, ensuring the staircase is in good repair, and potentially using tools or equipment to make the stairs safer. However, in some cases, the best option may be to simply avoid the stairs, as even tools like the stair lift can be difficult to use for some seniors.

Senior Fall Prevention: Evaluating the Seniors Abilities

Seniors are more at risk for a multitude of diseases and conditions, many of which have an impact on their ability to safely interact with their living environment. As a result, it is important to ensure that their home is as accessibility and easy to use as possible. There are a number of areas that should be addressed, such as adding grab bars to the shower area, but first it is essential to evaluate the abilities and limitations of the senior.

An Introduction to Senior Fall Prevention

Numerous studies have shown that senior falls are very difficult to recover from and increase the risk of the need for permanent assisted care. Learning how to prevent senior falls is very important and should start at home, as this is the place that most seniors spend most of their time.

There are many areas of the home that can be dangerous, including the bathroom, so each room should be addressed and things that increase the risk of a fall removed.

Preventing Senior Falls: Ensuring the Senior can Interact with Their Environment

Senior falls are very serious and often hard to recover from. In numerous studies, it has been found that recovering from a fall often requires the elderly to move to an assisted living facility, as well as causing a dramatic reduction in the ability to independently preform activities of daily life, such as bathing or cooking. Preventing these falls often starts at home, with attention paid to ensuring the living environment is safe and the senior is able to interact with their environment safely.

Increasing Staircase Safety A Step at A Time

Countless studies have found that the stairs are the area of the home that is most dangerous to seniors and the elderly. There are many reasons for this and it is often a combination of the condition of the staircase, coupled with the diminishing abilities of the senior. In a number of instances, diseases like arthritis can also make using the stairs much more difficult.

Not only are the stairs a very common source of injuries among the elderly, but seniors have a much harder time recovering from injuries, as well as also having a much higher risk of injury.

Helping to Reduce the Chance of a Senior Fall

Falls can be quite serious for those of any age, but the elderly is at most risk for an injury or health complications as the result of a fall. So, preventing senior falls becomes a very important consideration for any caregiver.

When preventing senior falls, it is important to identify and repair risk factors that could lead to a fall, while also evaluating the medical condition of the senior. However, often the risk factors are not black and white, so it is important to look at the home through the eyes of the senior.

Study Finds Seniors at Increased Risk for Complications During Hospitalization

In a recent study, published in the MedsBurg Nursing Journal, it was found that those over 65 are at a much higher risk of developing complications during hospitalizations that younger adults between the age of 16 and 44. This includes not only risks like falls, but also other medical issues, such as the development of ulcers and adverse reactions to anesthesia.

This study discusses these risks and also how they can be mediated and reduced. It is important to note that in addition to risks during hospitalization, the risk of complications post-hospitalization are also dramatically increased.