The Conservatory at North Austin is a picturesque retirement community and location that works with your loved one to create a real sense of senior safety in Austin, TX. What if such an apartment home included dozens of welcoming amenities and regular daily activities, all of which were designed to focus on active and independent living during senior years?
One of the key ways we achieve this is through the use of fall prevention devices. This article spotlights several of these, explaining how residents are kept safe while ensuring they continue to experience independence and a maintained sense of confidence in their senior years.
Read on to learn how we pair these devices with our own housekeeping routines and our focus on a welcoming location to support movement, and learn about how our Lifeline pendants work to double down on this tenet.
The National Institute on Aging confirms that many falls happen around the home, and as such, we have designed every apartment with this unfortunate truth in mind.
There are many aging in place tools we have used in this regard, which even those outside of our community could make use of. These include:
We place any specific equipment in the most logical locations where residents are likely to need it to prevent a potential slip or trip. For example, grab bars next to toilets or in showers, as well as on the few inclines that exist. These supports are ideally placed to be where hands naturally tend to go during transfers between spaces or at turns.
We also test these regularly to ensure that they do not start to shift, quickly fixing any problems for the safety of our residents.
Our open apartment design also helps keep floors clear of clutter. Residents can ensure that their space is not difficult to maintain, and can thus quickly get to where they need to, such as a bathroom or sofa, without risking a trip.
We understand that not all of our residents will be able to stand easily. As such, our walkways and doors allow for those in wheelchairs to move through them without difficulty. Nobody should need to stand to get where they need to go.
We can also help residents through the training we provide for our staff. If we notice residents relying more on furniture, or the help of another resident or staff, for example, we can inform their families to help them get items like canes, walkers, or rollators.
We can also provide advice on footwear and other daily-use items for all residents to help them be more comfortable when moving around. These should reduce the risk of tripswithout being difficult to put on for senior residents.
The humid and slick environment of a warm bathroom requires that we take special precautions for residents who will want to shower independently. As the bathroom is a key area contributing to one in four seniors in the United States falling each year, we want to ensure that it is designed to prevent that possibility.
Our toilets, for example, are slightly sloped forward. These not only offer easier use and reduced strain when performing their function, but also allow for easier standing at the end of the action.
Ridged floor mats in showers also provide extra grip, helping residents to maintain their balance when they use soap. They need not worry about the possibility of falling through such a simple accident.
Combining overhead and pathway lighting in our community can help to reduce shadows, allowing residents to always find their way back to their apartment with ease. We also use LED bulbs with adequate lighting, which helps support the contrast of colors in a space and improves depth perception for senior vision.
The use of both natural and artificial light also helps with this. We can ensure that the ambient lighting in an area is as bright as possible, giving those in our care a clearer view of their destination.
During the night, night lights also exist throughout our community. Those who need to exit their apartment for any reason will find that the area is still clear enough to see in, and need not worry about significant trip hazards.
One of the main independent living precautions we take is to use a Personal Emergency Response System (PERS) with automatic fall-detection. By partnering with Lifeline, we can provide these to all of our residents who request them, allowing our staff to monitor everyone and be notified if someone has a slip or trip.
We can then be at the person's side as fast as possible to offer assistance if necessary.
We have a clean and tidy community layout, and our staff are well-trained in noticing when a resident may need extra help to prevent falls. At the same time, our concierge service can respond to residents' needs when it comes to accepting parcels and other issues, making daily life easier for seniors who may not be able to move around as easily.
Together with several of our other amenities, these features mean that those in our care should never feel unsafe.
There are several minor, high-impact upgrades we have made to our community to ensure that we can create a space in which residents feel at ease. Meanwhile, our choice of more-advanced additions, such as an investment in Lifeline pendants and fall prevention devices, means that those staying with us always have a way of getting help if they need it.
If you are curious about what else we offer, contact us today. Learn about what independent living in Austin, Texas, offers by taking a tour of our community today.