Safety Tips to Help Prepare Your Home for Seniors Skip to main content Close Select your preferred language English عربى 简体中文 繁體中文 فارسي עִברִית 日本語 한국어 Русский Español Tagalog Menu Close Call 1-800-CEDARS-1 toggle search form Close Los Angeles, 20 December 2018 06:00 AM America/Los_Angeles Safety Tips to Help Prepare Your Home for Seniors How to Make Your Home Comfortable and Safe for Elderly Relatives and Holiday Guests Sonja Rosen, MD, is medical director, Geriatrics for Cedars-Sinai Medical Network and chief, Academic Section of Geriatrics at Cedars-Sinai. Photo by Cedars-Sinai. Sonja Rosen, MD, is medical director, Geriatrics for Cedars-Sinai Medical Network and chief, Academic Section of Geriatrics at Cedars-Sinai. Photo by Cedars-Sinai. In the midst of wrapping presents, stuffing stockings and shopping for family holiday dinners, hosts also need to make sure their home is safe for elderly guests. A Cedars-Sinai doctor offers safety reminders to help you prepare for these elderly visitors. Sonja Rosen, MD, chief of Geriatric Medicine at Cedars-Sinai, says accommodating your home for elderly guests is critical in order to prevent falls. "Falls are common, especially in and around the home, when it's an unfamiliar environment for guests." To prevent falls and keep guests comfortable, Rosen suggests:Put away loose rugs and loose cords that may get caught on assistive walking devices.Remove clutter and unnecessary decorations from walkways or heavily trafficked areas.Ask ahead of time if guests will need safety devices in the bathroom. Some of the most common items are handlebars to aid getting in and out of the shower and anti-slip mats on shower floors.Have a night light available in the guest's bedroom to prevent tripping over things in the dark. And keep a light on in the bathroom to prevent falls during nighttime visits.Provide a suitcase stand in the bedroom so guests don't have to bend down low.Have plenty of extra blankets and pillows on hand, to keep your elderly guests warm and comfortable.Help escort guests up and down any stairs or steps.Make sure to ask if your guest has any food allergies. Then, stock your kitchen accordingly with easy-to-access snacks and meals. Most importantly, Rosen recommends you enjoy time together. "Social isolation is a national epidemic. Opening your home and inviting your older loved ones in is a great blessing and sure to bring them – and you – great enjoyment and rewards," Rosen said. Related Stories RSS feed - Related Stories (opens in new window) View all headlines - Related Stories Cedars-Sinai Schedules Free Flu Vaccine Clinics October 05, 2022 06:13 AM America/Los_Angeles Cedars-Sinai is opening free flu vaccine pop-up clinics to help the community combat the upcoming flu season, which is shaping up to be a rough one.“We want to make it as easy as possible for people … Read more Study Patients Prefer Stool Test to Colonoscopy September 12, 2022 10:00 AM America/Los_Angeles Three-quarters of people prefer to do a fecal immunochemical test (FIT) rather than a colonoscopy for their regular colorectal cancer screening, according to a new Cedars-Sinai study.Unlike … Read more Cedars-Sinai Team Pioneers Liver Cancer Blood Test August 30, 2022 06:00 AM America/Los_Angeles Cedars-Sinai Cancer investigators have created a blood test that uses a technology made commonly available during the COVID-19 pandemic to detect the most common form of liver cancer—at an early … Read more Show previous items Show next items Contact the Media Team Email: [email protected] Contact Share this release Safety Tips to Help Prepare Your Home for Seniors Share on: Twitter Share on: Facebook Share on: LinkedIn Search Our Newsroom Social media Visit our Facebook page (opens in new window) Follow us on Twitter (opens in new window) Visit our Youtube profile (opens in new window) (opens in new window) Latest news 07 Oct 2022 - HealthDay: Black Women Less Likely to Get Laparoscopic Fibroid Surgeries 07 Oct 2022 - Faculty Publications: Sept. 29-Oct. 6 07 Oct 2022 - Fine-Tuning Organ-Chip Technology 06 Oct 2022 - KCRW: Want New Omicron Booster? Wait at Least 2 Months After Last Shot 05 Oct 2022 - Cedars-Sinai Schedules Free Flu Vaccine Clinics 04 Oct 2022 - Cedars-Sinai Showcases Hispanic and Latinx Art Newsroom Home