RENOVATIONS PART 7: Age-old safety solutions

Home improvement - can save you a lot of money in the long run if you are a senior citizen. It can save your neck, too. Falls are the leading cause of deaths for those older than 65, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and injury-related health care costs for those calls exceed $19 billion a year nationally.

With that in mind, you might want to spend a few bucks repairing and sprucing up your house even in these economically challenging times. It could prevent you from becoming a victim of your house's safety shortcomings.

And it could preserve your freedom.

"Safety issues in the home can impact a person's ability to live independently," says Paul Koch, resource development director of Silver Key Senior Services.

Home safety is an especially vital topic these days, with many of the 80 million baby boomers beginning to retire and others helping care for elderly parents, Koch says.

The nonprofit agency has a maintenance program and case workers who work with seniors to create safe environments.

Organization volunteers recently created a ramp at the home of Mamie Duffy.

"I'm so proud of it. I can get out on my own now," says the 78-year-old, who had a leg amputated this year because of diabetes complications and who now uses a wheelchair.

Before the ramp was installed, Duffy had to depend on family members, who often were at work when she needed them, to carry her and her wheelchair down the stairs.

"Now I just wheel down the ramp and get on the bus by myself when I want," she says.

Mobility within a house can be a problem, too.

"Clutter is one of the major threats," Koch says. Often elderly clients who live in two-story houses put everything on the stairs because they can't get it up or down stairs to put away. "It gets so bad that there's barely a path, and since they are unsteady on their feet anyway, it's an accident waiting to happen," Koch says.

Besides de-cluttering, such quick fixes as grab bars in bathrooms, better lighting, windows that open and shut easily, safe furniture arrangement, the removal of small area rugs, and the installation of handrails, can make a home much safer. And installing ramps at entrances can help even those who aren't in wheelchairs but have difficulty navigating stairs.

Of course, renovations can be even more elaborate, such as installing no-trip showers and raising kitchen and bathroom counters for easier reach.

Such safety innovations are not only good for physical well-being, but can be an important part of a senior's psychological well-being.

"Some seniors actually fear living a long time," says Mary Ann Kluge, a UCCS health sciences professor, who is part of a team working with developer Dunn & Associates to create a state-of-the-art living experience for seniors at the new 117-unit The Palisades at Broadmoor Park.

"Safety can create confidence and reduce fear of living alone," Kluge says.

SAFETY INSIDE AND OUT

Safety starts at the front door, says Jeffrey Dunn, president of Dunn & Associates, which has just opened The Palisades at Broadmoor Park senior community in southwest Colorado Springs. "Front door thresholds are something that most people pay no attention to until they trip and fall over it," he said. Thresholds can be replaced for the shorter no-trip variety or taken out all together. Here are some other room- by-room suggestions from The Palisades and University of Colorado at Colorado Springs team behind the new senior community, plus Silver Key Senior Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

OUTSIDE:
• Handrails on stairs
• Adequate lighting
• Spare key hidden outside in case senior gets locked out
• Light sensors that turn on when house is approached
• Reflective tape to outline steps and nonskid surface on steps
• Ramps instead of steps

INSIDE:
• Levered door handles instead of doorknobs, which are hard on arthritic hands
• Doorways at least 3-feet wide, and preferably 42 inches
• Wall plugs raised 2 feet off the floor for easier access
• Light switches that have LED lights so they can be found in the dark
• Light switches at top and bottom of stairs; adequate lighting throughout home; light bulbs with correct wattage for fixture
• Nonslip treads instead of carpeting on steps
• Heated floors in bathrooms, ceiling fans in living room and bedrooms, and windows that open and shut easily to help maintain proper climate. (As we age, we don't regulate body temperature as well.)
• "Zero threshold" flooring such as smooth, flat rugs; nonskid wax and cleaners on solid flooring; no scatter rugs. (Elderly people often drag their feet.)
• Handrails wherever there are steps
• Fire and carbon monoxide detectors
• Cords and wires placed out of the way

KITCHEN:
• Stoves that have controls in front for those with balance problems or difficulty reaching. (Can also prevent burns.)
• Heat-resistant kitchen counters, which allow pots to be slid from stove to counter instead of lifted
• Sink faucets that use levers instead of knobs
• Side-by-side refrigerator freezer to cut down on bending
• Equipment kept out of hardto-reach high or low shelves

BATHROOMS:
• Universal-height toilets (16 inches, which is lower than those for the handicapped and higher than the traditional 14 1/2-inch models)
• Nonslip mat or self-stick strips on the bathtub floor; grab bars in shower and next to toilet. (Bathtubs and showers are the most dangerous places in the house.)

BEDROOM:
• Phone next to bed; also a phone that's accessible in case of fall
• Night light
• Curtains and bedspreads kept away from heat sources

IF YOU NEED HELP

Silver Key Senior Services: Provides many services for elderly people, including some help safety-proofing homes Location: 2250 Bott Ave. Contact: 632-1521, or visit www.silverkey.org