avoiding falls

Ensure home safety through specialized design and renovations

Identify areas (inside/outside) for modifications to facilitate mobility and accessibility

Executes small jobs and provides recommendations for contractor if necessary

Services

  • Replace doorknobs with easier-to-maneuver door levers
  • Installation of walk-in bathtubs
  • Widening of doors for wheelchairs or walkers
  • Adding ramps and handrails for manageable transitions
  • Lower/raise kitchen counters and cupboards for better reachability
  • Provide design plans for furniture placement to create uncluttered pathways
  • Install smooth non-slip flooring surfaces

Specialization

Look for Certified Aging-In-Place Specialists (CAPS) authorized by the National Association of Home Builders.

CAPS certified professionals are:

  • trained to identify unsafe/hazardous home elements and offer ideas for creating safer spaces and maximizing independence
  • often specialized in a specific area e.g.; wheelchair-friendly spaces, hearing or vision impaired, etc.

Preparation

Check home for problematic features that may disqualify it as a long term option.

  • homes with multiple levels, entrance steps and stair cases
  • tight entries in and out of specific rooms
  • bathtub or shower difficult to maneuver

Some areas may be fine now; will they pose a problem in the future?

Determine how to time/money manage the project:

  • which updates are priority
  • which ones can wait
  • are they independent of each other
  • plan for alternative living arrangements for loved ones, if possible

Define a budget to match the plan

Evaluation

Provider qualifications:

  • Determine if  licensed as a contractor
  • If not, someone else may be doing the work
  • Clarify qualifications of all providers to be involved
  • Number of years experienced in aging in place modifications
  • Length of time required to do the home mods; can work be staged
  • Inquire about tailoring spaces for loved one’s particular needs
  • Get references.
  • Inquire about CSA or CAPS Certification