According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in every three adults over the age of 65 falls each year.
“At the Lee Memorial Trauma Center, falls are the leading cause of death that we see. A senior dies once every three days in Lee County from a fall,” says Mark Tesoro, Injury Prevention Educator/Analyst, Trauma Services with Lee Memorial Health System, “Twenty percent of seniors who do fall have fallen so badly that they’re hospitalized. Half of those who are hospitalized die within the first year.”
While those are startling facts, Tesoro stresses that falling is not a normal part of aging.
“For seniors in Lee County, sixty percent of falls happen in the home,” Tesoro continues, “Home is a dangerous place.”
But it doesn’t have to be. Home can be that warm sanctuary that you created. The place that you love to come back to after an exciting day or an exhausting day. The place where you can relax without fear of injury. The place you chose to live, love, play, relax, or work – it’s home.
Seniors who take that proactive approach to aging – to aging in place – know there are several things that they can do to ensure they don’t become another Southwest Florida statistic. Senior Choice at Home understands that, too, and has brought this program to Southwest Florida.
Senior Choice at Home enables seniors to gracefully live their lives where they have chosen to do so: their homes. Seniors who want to live at home can stay at home – safely, even if they need a little help. It’s a great program that allows members to remain active and independent, a key goal of the program.
Senior Choice at Home is a membership-based program that provides a lifetime of care services so that seniors can stay in their home and retain their independence. It’s not home health, and it’s not longterm insurance; rather, it’s an investment in the future for your long-term care, knowing that when you may need it, your services will be provided through a comprehensive program of continuing care services right at home. Senior Choice at Home is licensed by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulations as a “Continuing Care at Home” Retirement Community.
So how does safety fit into this program? When a new member joins, an Occupational Therapist will conduct a thorough safety review of your home to ensure your overall safety. A key aspect of this safety check is falls prevention.
“We are committed to providing the very best care for our members,” says Geri Spaeth, Executive Director of Senior Choice at Home, “Providing excellence in healthcare begins with safeguarding our members in their homes. Conducting a safety review is one of the first steps we take to protect each member.”
This includes a systematic evaluation of members’ homes to identify fall hazards.
“The Occupational Therapist will examine everything from the lighting to anything along the floors. We make certain we have well-lit, navigable pathways throughout the home,” says Spaeth.
Oftentimes, that means taping down beautiful Oriental rugs or using them as wall hangings if they pose a threat to someone’s safety.
As a member of Senior Choice at Home, your personal care coordinator will review the Home Safety Inspection report and recommend anything that you may need throughout your home. That could mean better lighting in the bathroom or hallway, creating “runway” lighting so that you can see where you’re going at night.
“Small suggestions on safety can have a huge impact on your overall wellness to keep members as active as they want to be. A room-by-room evaluation is just a small portion of how Senior Choice at Home helps those seniors who intend to live their lives at home instead of moving to an assisted living should something happen. Our members want to remain active and independent. These are some of the steps we take to ensure that we meet their wishes.” Spaeth says.
“Our personal care coordinators do an excellent job in completing safety checks not only when members first join, but each time they go into the home. It’s not a simple ‘one and done’ check. It’s every single visit.”
Senior Choice at Home is backed by Gulf Coast Village, a leading senior service provider for more than 25 years in Southwest Florida. Senior Choice at Home has a Bonita office in North Bay Village, across from Bonita Bay, at 26381 South Tamiami Trail, Ste. 114, Bonita Springs. To register for a seminar in Lee or Collier counties and discover all of the benefits that being a member of Senior Choice at Home offers, call 239.362.9153.