What's the Most DANGEROUS Place in Your Home?



Your Bathroom may be the most dangerous room in your Home.

We know instinctively that the bathroom is a dangerous place. Falls occur from slips and trips. Slips occur most often on wet surfaces. What floor do we tend to drip water on most often? Trips come from obstructions we don’t see. Which room is often small with limited storage so things may be placed on the floor or on storage shelves placed in the walkway? Many falls occur when lighting is inadequate. What room in older homes is usually lit by a single set of lights that we reduce even further when we close shower curtains? Better yet, if we wear glasses, what room do we routinely take them off in? Other falls occur when a person’s ability to balance isn’t adequate for the tasks they are engaged in.

What room requires us to step over a 15” high barrier such as the side of a tub, get on the floor such as getting into a tub, bend over such as pulling up pants after toileting? To top it all off, which room of our house is so small that if we fall on the floor we are likely to block the door shut with our body so no one can get in to help us? Of course we know the bathroom is a scary place, but it doesn’t have to be.

Safety can be improved in most bathrooms with careful attention to matching the environment to a person’s abilities and a willingness to try something new. It may be as simple as a well placed grab bar or a rug to absorb moisture that is really slip resistant to. For some homes, it may be a little more involved such as replacing a standard tub with a barrier free or walk in shower, or adding a walk in tub. Thinking about making a change may be difficult, but consider the alternative.

Take a look at these facts from the article Falls Among Older Adults: An Overview the Center for Disease control www.cdc.gov.

• More than one third of adults 65 and older fall each year in the United States (Hornbrook et al. 1994; Hausdorff et al. 2001).

• Among older adults, falls are the leading cause of injury deaths. They are also the most common cause of nonfatal injuries and hospital admissions for trauma (CDC 2005).

• In 2005, 15,800 people 65 and older died from injuries related to unintentional falls; about 1.8 million people 65 and older were treated in emergency departments for nonfatal injuries from falls, and more than 433,000 of these patients were hospitalized (CDC 2005).

• The rates of fall-related deaths among older adults rose significantly over the past decade (Stevens 2006).
How can we look at facts like these, know the bathroom is one of the most useful, but most dangerous places in our home, and still not take action to save ourselves and people we love?

Take action today. Educate yourself on ways to make your bathroom safer. It may be easier and less expensive than you think it will be. If you want some help planning a functional and beautiful bathroom experience give us a call. We think you are worth it.

CAPS Specialists Won't Let You Get Locked Out!



The right professional can help unlock the potential accessibility of your home. All too often people who have disabilities or people whose abilities change as they grow older feel like they are “locked out” of areas of their own homes. The average house is full of barriers to people who use wheelchairs or walkers, or who have balance or strength issues.

There are so many ways to change homes to remove these barriers, but how do you know what to do? How do you pick a design or building professional that has the skills to evaluate you and your situation so you spend your money on modifications or equipment that actually works for you?

AARP released a land mark study in the year 2000 http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/il/home_mod.pdf  that made it crystal clear that:

- Americans prefer to stay in their own homes as they grow older but realize the home will have safety and access problems.
- People didn’t know what to do or who to ask to help them make changes to their homes.
- People didn’t trust building professionals to know what to do or to
treat them fairly.

The National Association of Home Builders Remodelers responded. In collaboration with AARP, NAHB Research Center and NAHB 50+ Housing Council, they developed the Certified Aging in Place Specialist Designation, CAPS. The CAPS is a multi-professional designation which is important as Home Modifications require knowledge not only of the structure of the home, but of people and the medical conditions that affect them, and of the huge variety of equipment available to increase independence in the home.

The course work introduces professionals experienced in their own trades such as therapists, interior designers, contractors, architects to the unique needs of the older adult population and reinforces good business management and utilization of a set of ethics.

People interested in finding professionals with a CAPS designation can go to the National Association of Home Builders web site to find a national directory.

http://www.nahb.org/generic.aspx?sectionID=717&genericContentID=46799

BevVan Phillips
was among the first CAPS professionals in the state of Nebraska and we are proud to announce that the newest members of the Home Access Solutions, Inc staff have completed the educational requirements to obtain their CAPS designation.

Brady Croft
has a background in the building trades and will be using his construction skills and knowledge of DC motors as our primary installer and service professional.

Tara Rise
has a degree in Interior Design with a focus on Home Modifications and in addition to generalized access design and equipment selection will be working closely with the Best Bath line of barrier free showers and walk in tubs that we represent.

G
arrett Worner has a background in construction and real estate and in addition to working with access remodeling design and equipment will be focusing on the SureHands Lift and Care System of high tech transfer solutions that can help people stay in their homes longer.

At Home Access Solutions, Inc. we bridge the gap between the structure of your home and your abilities. You can count on Home Access Solutions for knowledgeable evaluation and professional service. There is no reason to feel “locked out” of your own home. We are right here in your community, waiting to serve you.