Safety: Falling and Fear

Falling is a serious issue and there are many companies and agencies all over the area who work with seniors, to provide them with information about preventing falls. I am very proud to say that  Home Access Solutions is part of this much needed volunteer effort.

One of the community groups we are involved with, is F1RST, hosted by the Greater Omaha Chapter of the National Safety Council. We’ve developed a GREAT DVD to educate you on some simple precautions you can take to prevent a fall from occurring.

You can see this DVD and get more information on the F1RST (Fall Intervention, Reaching Seniors Together) committee at www.F1RST.org.

Or call the Omaha Chapter of the National Safety Council and request the DVD called, “Simple Changes Can Keep You Safe Where You Live,” at (402) 896-0454.

We are also collaborating with both the F1RST task force and the Eastern Office on Aging to provide presentations on, "Reducing the Risk of Falling," to audiences all over our community.

We taught public speaking basics to some Senior volunteers from The Foster Grandparent and Senior Companion programs of the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging. They have personal stories about the impact of falling on a person’s life and will be working with a speaker from the F1RST committee to provide the presentations.

Listen to them and you will understand the effects and severity of a fall and why it is important to take action to save people today.

Call the National Safety Council or email the F1RST program manager today ccady@safenebraska.org to set up a presentation for your group.

Call or email us if you want to modify your home to reduce your risk of falling and please share this video with those you care for and love. You may very well save their life.

View ENOA Senior Companion Videos by clicking on their names:
-Allene
-Hestoria
-Joe
-Lois
-LaVelle
-Lenora
-Leola
-Lula

Bathroom Safety - Grab Bar Installation

More often than not, I get the impression that you believe that a person needs to be totally infirm, or older than they are, in order to need a grab bar. I’ll get responses such as, “ Well, I don’t want my bathroom to look like a gas station”, or “I don’t want to affect the value of my home”.

Here’s the deal:

All people at any time of their lives reach out and grab things when they feel off balance. A grab bar is simply something designed to be grabbed. It stays put when you grab it as opposed to a towel rack or a walker, or the corner of a dresser.

Also, who says grab bars need to look medicinal and drab? If that is your choice, fine, but look at the grab bars pictured in this article. Old world bronze to match the faucets, shower head, and décor. Do you really think this has destroyed the value of this bathroom?

Actually great supports don’t even have to be permanent.In my video, I feature a superpole. This superpole has a superbar from Healthcraft. It pushes between the floor and the joists in the ceiling and provides a support anywhere one is needed in a room. You can even use these in bed rooms or in living rooms near a favorite easy chair.

This is advanced technology for grab bars. You can actually use the same pole in various orientations not only as a space saver, but also to assist with mobility. Who said grab bars weren’t fantastic?!

So back to the big question:
When do you put in a grab bar? The easy answer is before you need it, before a fall convinces you that you or someone you care about needs a balance assist. You and I both know that if you are unlucky, that one, first fall may be the one that changes your life forever.

Do you really want to be on the floor, or be loading your mother into the ambulance and thinking at that point, "I wish we had put in that grab bar?” Of course not.

We believe in supporting people at Home Access Solutions.

We believe in grab bars. We believe in being pro-active to achieve safety and independence at home. We will make it easy for you to get the right bar selected and installed and through April we will even make it cost less. Share this video and article with people who need to know about grab bars – everyone!

Remember the best time to install is before you need it.

You are smart, you know that’s true. Let’s see who gets sensible first and gives us a call  at 402.291.9514  to get those beautiful grab bars where they belong!

Where There is a Will There is a Way

Most of us have heard the saying “Where there is a will, there is a way”.

How often do we stop and think about what it means? At Home Access Solutions, we meet people everyday who are living examples of what it means. There is a huge amount of equipment and home modifications that we can offer to people to help them achieve their goals. But all the equipment in the world, won’t help unless a person has the drive and determination to use it. It takes the right equipment and the drive to use it for a person to successfully change a disability into ablity.

Many times, people are determined to achieve their goal before they even know that something exists that will help them do it. It is a pretty great feeling to listen to someone talk about what they would like to accomplish and then show them the equipment or describe a structural modification that will make it possible. This is one of our primary services. We have access to years of experience with modifications and equipment and the expertise to help people select things that will work for them. At Home Access Solutions, we like to say “If you have the will- we’ll help you find the way!”