Senior Staircase Safety: What You Need to Know

Published on: 02 March 2021 Last Updated on: 26 December 2024

The rates of falls and staircase-related injuries among the elderly continue to increase.

A Queensland government health report states that 100,000 people are hospitalized due to falls. The main causes include slipping, tripping, and stumbling, especially on stairs. Almost 10% of ambulance calls in Victoria attend to elderly patients who have fallen.

This article examines stair safety for senior citizens and how to proactively stop falls.

We explore safety features like stair treads and guard rails. And how the right lighting will protect the physically vulnerable.

Learn about stair safety and consider the elderly by reading these 3 tips. Then make falls and trips a thing of the past.

1. Safety Rails for Staircases:

Stair safety guardrails act as an invaluable support aid when mounting or dismounting stairs.

According to the government’s WorkSafe guide, each stairway should include at least one handrail. If the stairs are wider than 100cm then two handrails are required on either side.

Slippy rails or those too large to grip are worse than useless.

A power grip style that’s rectangular or circular allows the person to hold tight and use the stairs with confidence. There should be no obstructions to allow free movement. And the rails need to be visually significant so they’re easy to see.

2. Stair Treads for Elderly Relatives:

Stair treads are the horizontal part of a stair on which a person steps on.

Treads are often carpeted in elderly residential homes and houses. However, this type of material can rise or bump making the tread a tripping hazard.

Non-slip treads provide a safer environment. Methods include:

rubber or abrasive treads
anti-slip tape
slip-resistant nosing

Nosing is the edge of the stair where footfall is greatest. Stairs without firm nosing will see a higher number of falls. Therefore, it’s essential to include adequate nosing that is easily seen and strong enough to take a person’s full weight.

Staircase installers offer a full range of stair treads available in different colors and finishes. There are multiple nosing options on offer too but ask for the right type to suit the intended setting.

3. Improve Lighting and Remove Tripping Hazards:

Stairs should always have a high illumination level. Especially when contrasted to adjacent spaces.

Shadows and low areas of light can disrupt visibility. Remove them by installing low-glare overhead lights or a stair lighting kit. Make sure to have light switches on the upper and lower levels too.

Additionally, remove any tripping hazards from the staircase.

Items like clothing or books must never block the stairs. Carers should inspect the staircase regularly and remove all items. Training in care homes should provision for this along with general safety guidelines.

Making Stairs Safer for Seniors:

Senior staircase safety should include increasing visibility, removing hazards, and upgrading staircases.

Stair injuries can be grave and life-threatening in nature for seniors. You can suffer from injuries that might require medical procedures like hip replacement surgery or one for the knee. This is one reason why staircase safety is advocated.

Adding non-slip stair treads and dual handrails not only acts as safety features but can boost confidence. Adding extra light will help too.

Make an elderly person more comfortable in their home by following these tips. Reduce falls and increase the quality of life through simple staircase additions.

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6 Reasons To Prefer Patient-Centered Care For Older Adults

When a person grows old, he/she becomes dependant on other people. Sadly, isolation can bring drastic effects on an aged patient’s wellbeing as he/she’s more susceptible to develop negative consequences. That’s why experts often pursue senior companionship programs for older people. It’s an unfortunate fact that many hospitals worldwide still do not follow a person-centric approach. This innovative model focuses on prioritizing a person’s values, desires, and preferences in making healthcare decisions. Some elements that furnish an effective patient-centric plan involve focusing on physical and emotional wellbeing and having a family member present in the care setting. This approach also concentrates on providing accessible, cooperative, and collaborative facilities to the aged patients while allowing them to make informed decisions. The elderly population in the United States is growing rapidly. It’s expected to exceed from 17% to approximately 20% by 2050. It is worth mentioning that, like every other population, senior citizens in America are also more vulnerable to isolation. These factors contribute to different challenges associated with the mental and physical wellbeing of old people. In this article, we’ll provide an extensive explanation of why aged patients must receive patient-centered care for better results. Some of its benefits include: 1. Job satisfaction: Satisfied doctors are more likely to treat their patients productively. It’s been observed that patient-centered care even motivates physicians to become more efficient at their jobs. Many medical practitioners, especially nurses, take a step ahead by enrolling in various MSN to DNP nursing education programs for excellence in their careers. This extra qualification enables healthcare professionals to focus on the strategies that can help them attain the best outcomes for aged patients. Hence, patient-centric care empowers the staff, which indirectly affects the mental/physical health of the old population. 2. Healthy environment: Hospitals implement a patient-centered model to incorporate the patient-first approach. This leads to the creation of a supportive environment where patients are provided individualized attention and personalized healthcare. This environment contributes to the patient’s emotional wellbeing. This model further streamlines the workflow, thereby enhancing the organization’s overall efficiency. Patient-centric care ensures that the staff eliminates every inefficiency and capably delivers the facilities your patients need. 3. Patient engagement: The ancient residents feel valued and respected when hospitals implement a patient-centric model. Focusing on their needs and abilities, patient-centered care enables patients to participate in decisions related to their healthcare plans actively. With a quality-based patient experience, hospitals can drive greater patient engagement. When you deliver a personalized experience to the patient community, they communicate efficiently with the medical staff. This communication leads to their well-being. When your patients feel satisfied with the healthcare they receive, it increases their life expectancy. Since the individualized care makes them feel important again, patients believe that they’re leading a purposeful life instead of living a pathetic, meaningless existence. 4. Patient profile: The patient-centric model allows the creation of a holistic patient profile for better healthcare facilities. This approach enables the medical staff to collect the patient’s information for better understanding. Now, whenever a patient engages with a medical expert, he/she will access the patient’s medical records. This practice enables doctors to understand the patient’s unique touchpoints – risk factors and medical records – to provide the right medicinal solutions. 5. Mental health: The elderly often feel helpless and secluded from their surroundings. This sense of isolation isn’t healthy at all! Boredom affects the mental health of elderly patients. However, patient-centered care allows them to engage in several activities. These actions ward off depression and cure their sense of solitude. Some of these riveting activities involve mundane tasks such as: Painting Gardening Listening to music etc. A study published by Pew Research last year showed that one-fourth of US adults aged 60+ are living alone. This means more and more adults are likely to face mental health issues, which has increased the need for quality health care in older adults. 6. Good reputation: This approach improves patients’ satisfaction since the patient-centered service aligns with the patients’ healthcare expectations. The Beryl Institute found that over 70% of patients would share their good or negative experiences at a healthcare institute, making satisfaction important for your reputation. This practice also improves your organization’s public perception. Since we live in a world where online reviews are of uttermost value, it may affect a hospital’s reputation if patients aren’t happy with the health outcomes. Patients who feel that they’re properly taken care of by the medical staff enable the organization to maintain its reputation and remain in patient’s good books. Conclusion: Patient-centered care helps them curb loneliness and escape isolation. This approach improves the healthcare outcomes in any country for the aged population. In the end, several researchers have demonstrated that patient-centered care has better results than traditional medical maneuvers for the elderly. Hospitals that implemented a patient-centered approach have reported better health outcomes since patients recover faster and don’t frequently visit ER. Read Also: 5 Best Ways For Seniors To Pass The Time Senior Staircase Safety: What You Need to Know 6 Effective Ways to Improve Your Mental Health

5 Tips for Turning Your Church Around

Recent years have seen a rapid decline in church attendance. One of the harsh facts of the current climate is that the institution has become all but irrelevant to many Americans, especially the younger generations, and so congregations have shrank. There are many reasons that church membership is down, and not all of them even relate directly to the clergy or to the church. One contributing factor is that Millennials and Gen-Zers are more averse to a commitment to any institution, including marriage and religion. However, another major factor is that America is becoming less religious as fewer people claim to have any religious affiliation. Ignoring these facts will do nothing to change the trends, but turning your church around isn't impossible. Read on to get some tips to help you revive your church and make it more durable. Here are 5 Tips for Turning Your Church Around: 1. Acknowledge that your church has a problem. As a church leader, you're probably accustomed to helping people through life's hardships. As a counselor and minister, you know that the first and most important step of solving a problem is admitting that there is one. You have to apply that same principle inwards, especially when it comes to turning your church around. It's equally important to be able to recognize the signs that your church is in trouble. One of the crucial signs that your church is trending downward is that you have a lack of young people in your congregation. Growth is important for the survival of any organization, and you can't grow without an infusion of youth. Also, if there is no talk of the church's direction and goals for the future, then it is going in the wrong direction. The goal shouldn't be to simply exist and maintain the status quo--you need to always have a vision for how to make it something greater. 2. Hire people with skills that can help your mission to grow. Even though the goal of your church isn't to make money, you need to approach turning it around with a business mindset. In business, you need to have the right personnel in place to facilitate growth, and you need to take the same business-like approach to revive your ministry. Growing your church should be a project with many steps and initiatives that you put forth with the goal of revitalizing the ministry. You should consider hiring a project manager who has successfully completed PMP certification training. A project management professional undergoes years of schooling to get their project management certification, or PMP certificate, and they specialize in planning, and in managing the funding of projects. You may even want to consider sponsoring one of your members for the PMP certification process as a way to facilitate growth from within your flock. By helping them get the credentials needed, through on-site project experience, they can quickly gain their own project management certification, and help you in return. The more qualified hands you have on deck, then the more ready your church will be to undertake the task of turning the ministry around. 3. Get the youth involved. One of the major issues facing churches around the United States is that young people are losing interest in church. If this trend continues, then from where will the clergy and church leaders of the future come? One way you can attract youth to your ministry is to give them responsibilities. Adolescents are on the cusp of adulthood, and the desire to have a role in shaping the institutions of which they're apart. Create programs specifically for the younger people in your church, and also empower them to give suggestions and spearhead small projects. 4. Encourage members to become leaders. One of the most important prerequisites for ministers to remember is that you can't build a ministry alone. If you want your members to become more engaged in church, then you need to get them active. One way to get members to become more interested in growing the ministry is to facilitate their personal spiritual growth. Creating a school of ministry for members who dream of someday wearing priest shirts is an excellent way to help your members grow, as well as attracting potential new members to step into the church for the first time. Put your credentials and years of experience in ministry to work by becoming a trainer for future ministers and leaders. 5. Get active in the community. One of the unfortunate trends in the U.S. is that people are beginning to feel like the church is irrelevant in modern society. One of the main reasons for that sentiment is that many churches are inactive in their community. If you want to revitalize your church, then community service is one of the best ways. Programs like neighborhood cleanups and food drives are excellent ways to ingratiate your church to the community through service. Read Also: Uses and History of Prayer Beads in Various Traditions

Reasons to Support Nonprofit Organizations That Help Save the Environment

Nonprofit organizations deserve your support. If you have enough time and resources, you should support them. Look for organizations that take steps to save the environment. These are the reasons why your support will go a long way. They have clear goals: Not all groups that protect the environment have the same goals. Some of them focus on animal conservation. Others are about preventing water pollution. You can even find organizations that help train future leaders who will challenge people in authority. Choose whatever is closest to your heart and help in whatever way you can. Look at the mission of these organizations and see how you can be of help. You can start from home: If you don't see yourself helping these organizations yet, you should start from home. Some practices will make you understand the value of environmental protection even more. For instance, you can partner with reputable recycling companies like langleyrecyclingkc.com to dispose of used materials. The items you let go of will be recycled. Considering the many benefits of recycling, you're doing the right thing. Eventually, if you see the value of environmental protection, you will consider supporting these organizations. If you don't want to go alone, convince your friends to be with you. You might know people who share the same concern. There are results: If you believe the steps you take at home bear no results, it's understandable. You can help environmental groups in addition to what you do at home. If you join these organizations, you will see drastic changes. It motivates you to do more since you know that your actions have positive results. It’s a wise use of your time: When you have free time, and you wish to relax, it's good for you. Everyone deserves time to be alone and not worry about anything. However, if you have more time in your hands, use it properly. Taking steps to protect the environment is one of them. It feels satisfying since you're doing something not just for yourself. Environmental protection helps create a better world for the future generation. If you have children, you will understand its value even more. These people volunteer their time and resources: Most people running these nonprofit organizations don't get paid well. They're doing the right thing out of their love for the cause. They're also passionate about protecting the environment. If some of them can devote their entire time and resources to keep the organization going, you can do the same. You don't have to be there full-time, but there are ways to support. Nonprofit organizations succeed because of people who are willing to lend a hand. Besides, there are different ways to lend a hand. If you have enough financial resources, you can donate. If you have skills in promoting the organization, you can use them. Ask these organizations how you can be of help and volunteer whenever you're free. The people running them will appreciate whatever you can offer. Read Also: Why Environmental Air and Noise Monitoring Is Really Worth Families Health Dangers Of Chemical Spills On Humans, Buildings, And Environment

Senior Staircase Safety: What You Need to Know

1. Safety Rails for Staircases:

2. Stair Treads for Elderly Relatives:

3. Improve Lighting and Remove Tripping Hazards:

Making Stairs Safer for Seniors:

Are Major Sectors Minimizing Single-Use Plastic Waste Enough?

Elements Figuring out the Medication Cost

Content Rally

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

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6 Reasons To Prefer Patient-Centered Care For Older Adults

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Reasons to Support Nonprofit Organizations That Help Save the Environment

Senior Staircase Safety: What You Need to Know

1. Safety Rails for Staircases:

2. Stair Treads for Elderly Relatives:

3. Improve Lighting and Remove Tripping Hazards:

Making Stairs Safer for Seniors:

Share this Article

Are Major Sectors Minimizing Single-Use Plastic Waste Enough?

Elements Figuring out the Medication Cost

Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.

Leave a Reply

Popular

Follow Us

Recent

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