How are falls being prevented in assisted living services? The COVID-19 pandemic has confined elders to homes. Unfortunately, this ‘sheltering in place’ with restricted physical activities is making them prone to falls thereby creating a negative impact on the well-being. Sadly, falls also happen to be a leading cause of unintentional fatality in the older generation. So there is an urgent need to pay attention to this compelling aspect of senior care, right?
One of the right approaches to tackle this dangerous problem is to create spaces with the proper design for aging with sufficient facilities and amenities for the safe movement of elders. It can be quite cumbersome and some cases even impossible to transform individual homes to meet this challenge. Fortunately, assisted living facilities offer a promising alternative to this dilemma by providing senior-friendly abodes which are scrupulously built to be completely safe and fall-proof for seniors. Athulya Assisted Living, a prominent facility for retired communities of India, has illustrated this aspect in its well-crafted homes in Chennai. Everything right from the floor to the ceiling here is scrupulously designed to meet all needs of aging. Skilled Nursing Care by well-trained geriatric staff is also available for elderly patients requiring medical support. Let us now explore more about fall prevention.
Fall Risk Factors • • • • • •
Chronic body conditions that affect mobility or cognitive abilities including osteoporosis, arthritis, diabetes, stroke, dementia and Parkinson’s disease. Due to this, there may be stiff joints, weak muscular strength, poor nervous control, balancing and coordination problems. Inherent fear of falling in the mind lead to restriction of usual physical activities and movement challenges. Visual audio impairments that make elderly persons completely disoriented due to loss of vital senses. That, in turn, causes inhibition in moving around the normal surroundings freely and decreases the mental capabilities of perception for safely interacting with it. Dizziness due to constantly varying blood pressure results in postural instabilities. Side-effects of medications that are used to calm down the central nervous system cause reduced responsiveness and alertness. Environmental hurdles like cluttered spaces, rough surfaces, insufficient lighting, poorly designed furniture and damp grounds.