If your elderly parent lives alone, you should be concerned with their safety. Fortunately, there are many things you can do to make their home safer for them, two of which are listed below. Doing this will allow your parent to stay home on their own for even longer. 

Install a Stair Lift

If your parent's home has a second floor, you should consider installing a stair lift for them. This will allow them to safely go to the second floor without having to worry about your parent falling down the stairs, which can cause injury or even death. 

Stair lifts attach to the stairs and not to the wall so you will not have to worry about wall damage. These stair lifts have controls that your parents use to move the chair up or down their stairway. This may be a switch that they turn on or a button that they push. While the switch or button is being pushed the stair lift moves up or down. Your parent can stop pressing the control to stop the chairlift no matter where it is on the staircase. The chair does automatically stop once it reaches the bottom or the top of the staircase. 

Stair lifts have seatbelts installed so your parent will not fall off the chair. These chairs generally have armrests and a padded seat to make it comfortable for your parent to sit in. How fast the stair lift goes will depend on what you purchase. 

Make Bathroom Safer

One room in the home that can be dangerous to elderly people is the bathroom. Because of this, there are many changes you should consider making for your parent. First, a walk-in bathtub will make it easier for your parent to get in and out of the bathtub. With these, there is a door that your parent opens to stop into the tub and then closes the door when they get in. The door is completely sealed so no water will leak out. 

You could also install a walk-in shower if your parent does not like to take a bath. If you choose this, choose a shower that is large enough to accommodate a shower chair if your parent needs this or will need one in the future.

Install grab bars on each side of the toilet to help your parent get on and off the toilet without falling. Install grab bars in the bathtub area also or in the shower area if you plan to put a shower in their bathroom. 

There are many more things you can do to your parent's home, such as install a security system, remove rugs, inspect electrical cords, and more.

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