If you have grandparents visiting for the summer, or you think they may come for the holidays, you’ll need to make sure they can easily move around your home. Ensuring their comfort and safety is very important during their visit, and one way to help with this is to invest in home modifications. The question is which home modifications are available to help your loved ones? Today we’re going to walk you through some simple changes and additions you can make to your home to make your grandparents’ visit more comfortable.
Common Mobility Problems And How To Solve Them
1. Lack of Wheelchair Access
If one of your grandparents is in a wheelchair, they may find it difficult to maneuver within your home if you’re not prepared. Solution: Ramps are an excellent way to invite wheelchair access into your home. If your loved ones are only staying for a little while, you can rent a wheelchair ramp for the duration of their stay. Similarly, floor transition strips specially made for wheelchairs help make moving between rooms easier when there is an elevation change or change in flooring type. For more long-term accommodations, you may consider investing in a permanent wheelchair ramp or converting a room on your base floor into a bedroom.
2. Steep Stairs
Stairs can be very dangerous for seniors, especially if they are steep. Solution: To avoid falls and ensure the safety of your guests, you should make sure that the handrails on your stairs are sturdy and easily utilized. You can also consider a stairlift for indoor staircases which can be rented or purchased.
3. Lack of Supporting Structures
Bathrooms are one of the most dangerous places for seniors. Falling on tile or within a bathtub can prove catastrophic. Solution: To assist your grandparents during their stay, handrails and grab bars will help them a lot. You can place grab bars in any room in your house, but bathrooms, stairwells, and kitchens should be first on your list.
Freedom Mobility is Here To Help You
If you’re not sure about how you can make your home safer and more accessible to visiting grandparents, then we can sit down and talk it over with you. We have CAPS, or “Certified Aging-in-Place Specialists” who know the ins and outs of home modifications for seniors and patients with mobility problems. Give us a call at (443) 342-9839, contact us online, or come by our showroom in Hanover, MD. We’d love to become an extension of your care team.