Work With Your Home Health Aide To Ensure The Following Wintertime Anti-Fall Measures Are In Place
Hiring a home health aide to care for your elderly parent can give you the peace of mind that he or she will receive the helping hand that is needed to continue to live independently. If you're concerned about your parent falling, this concern becomes even more real during the winter months, when the traction underfoot can be precarious due to snow and ice. It's useful to adopt an anti-fall strategy with the home health aide; he or she can take charge of implementing the necessary tasks, given that he or she will likely be visiting your parent daily. Here are some steps to put into place.
Keep The Front Walk Cleared
It's easy for an elderly individual to slip and fall on his or her front walk when it's covered in snow or ice. Make sure that your home health aide knows to clear this area after any inclement weather. Keep a snow shovel handy and include a bag of sand or salt that the aide can sprinkle around the walkway to improve traction. This simple task can be the difference between your elderly parent being able to successfully negotiate the walk from the car to the front door or slipping, falling, and sustaining an injury.
Provide Physical Support
Even if your elderly parent is capable of getting around on his or her own, the story may change when the traction underfoot is less than stellar. Ask your home health aide to keep a close eye on your parent when he or she is outside and to provide physical support when the traction appears to be poor. This is especially important when the duo is out in public — whereas the aide can keep your front walk in good condition, this isn't always the case in parking lots and on sidewalks around town.
Remove Puddles Indoors
An elderly person's risk of slipping doesn't end when he or she gets inside. When people leave wet boots and shoes around the entrance of a door, the snow on the soles can begin to melt and leave puddles on the interior tiles. If your parent doesn't have the sharpest vision, he or she may easily overlook these puddles and end up slipping on them. Remind the health aide to wipe up any water as soon as it occurs. You may also want to get a rubber or plastic boot holder that will contain any melted snow.
For more information about working with a home health aide, contact a company like Caring Health Care Solutions.
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