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Steps To Independent Living For Seniors

If you have an elderly loved one with her heart set on living home alone rather than going into assisted living or a nursing home, there are some steps you should take to make sure she stays safe.

Eventually the time may come when she must leave her home for health or safety reasons, but with proper planning and the right equipment she can live independently for much longer.

This will help improve the quality of life in her golden years and give you peace of mind as well. Here are some things to think about to make sure your loved one is safe for independent living.

A safety net of individuals who care for your loved one is important. The more people keeping an eye out, even at a distance, the better. Enlist the help of neighbors, family members, friends, senior organizations, church groups, and health agencies.

Independent living doesn't mean living in isolation. Arrange to have frequent visitors to your loved one's home even if it has to be paid home health workers or a monitoring service. Make it easy for your loved one to get in touch with others by setting up an easy to operate phone with preprogrammed numbers to friends, family, and medical agencies.

Safety proofing the home is another important step to independent living. You may not realize the things you need to look for. You can arrange for an occupational therapist to perform a home evaluation to make sure the home is safe. At the very least you can get pamphlets or advice from local senior agencies about what to look for. For example, you should trip-proof the floors by removing throw rugs and making sure there are no loose tiles or thresholds that could catch a shoe and cause your loved one to trip. The bathroom is especially dangerous and should be outfitted with grab bars and non-slip decals on the tub and shower.

Think about the activities of daily life your loved one will have to manage. How will she get groceries or go to the doctor? If you aren't able to take care of these chores, make arrangements with other people or social service agencies so your loved one can live a full life and doesn't stay at home stranded. It may help to schedule an appointment with a social agency so you can find out what community services are available, how much they cost, and what is covered by insurance. Even if your loved one doesn't need the assistance yet, as she ages, she will gradually decline and probably need them sooner or later. Also, a sudden illness or fall could cause her needs to quickly change so being prepared in advance never hurts.

One advantage to group home living is the constant social interaction and activities. Living alone at home can get lonely so you'll also want to think of ways your loved one can socialize. See if local senior centers offer transportation so she can get together and play cards or watch movies. Put her on your church's visiting list. Work out a visitation schedule with all members of your extended family to ensure that she'll have the opportunity to go out and dine or go shopping if she wants.

Independent living shouldn't mean your loved one has to handle all of the finances and household duties. To keep the home hygienic and free of dangerous clutter, you can arrange a cleaning service to come in once a week or so.

You may have to oversee finances to guard against her being taken advantage of, or having utilities shut off because she forgot to pay a bill.

Seniors have a wide variety of needs that arise from different medical conditions and mental states. You'll want to ensure your loved one has the proper medical equipment needed to function fully.

There are many kinds of adaptive equipment options that make life easier for seniors with failing eyesight, poor hearing or limited mobility. The more normal life continues to be, the more your loved one will enjoy independent living. Today there are many products and services that can help such as personal alarms, medicine dispensers, and even video monitoring.

Nothing beats loving personal care, but when you can't be there, you can still have peace of mind in knowing you have done everything possible to keep your loved one safe while honoring her wishes to live independently. All it takes is learning about all the many options and choosing the best ones for your loved one's needs.