Geriatric Care Management Blog

I promised in my last posting to talk more specifically about what can be made safe for seniors who wish to age in place – room by room.  I am going to start with the room in the home where most accidents happen, the bath.  The bathroom for most elders represents the perfect storm of a confined space with potentially slippery surfaces.  Nearly one-third of seniors over age 65 fall each year, and the majority of these falls happen in the bathroom.  With basic planning and potentially some retrofitting, however, the bath can be made more safe and accommodating to an older person’s limited mobility and range of motion.  Let’s start with surfaces.

There may already be a rug near the shower or bath area, but make certain it has a sticky, non-slip back to minimize falls when an elder enters or leaves the tub.  If your older loved one uses a floor mat in the tub area when showering, make sure that the suction cups still offer good sticking poser.  You may consider adhesive decals that stick to the porcelain tub...