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Health Living - Seniors Tips
Maintaining Seniors' Independence - Stay independent - and in your home - longer
Canada - As our health and lives change, so do our housing needs. Across Canada, the overwhelming majority of seniors prefer to continue to live safely and independently in their own homes for as long as possible. However, many homes are simply not designed to meet seniors' changing needs.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has a number of tips on
how to adapt a home to keep pace with changing needs, so seniors can stay
safe, independent - and in their own home - longer, including:
- Repair holes or uneven joints in walkways that could cause tripping.
- Replace steep slopes with steps or a low-slope ramp,
- Add a ramp to bypass existing steps.
- Install light fixtures or floodlights with easily accessible switches
to illuminate entrances, steps and walkways.
- Repair all unsafe stair handrails.
- Install handrails on both sides of the stairways.
- Replace worn or loose coverings and mark the edges of stairs with a
permanent stripe in a contrasting colour.
- If you are renovating the stairs in your current home, or building a
new home that has stairs, make sure that the back vertical portion of
the step (the rise) is not too high and that the horizontal part of the
step (the tread) has adequate depth
- If you live in a two-storey home, consider creating a bedroom, a full
bathroom, and having the clothes washer and dryer on the ground floor.
- Reduce the height of, or eliminate, high door thresholds at room
entrances.
- Use a contrasting colour or texture on the edge of the floor wherever
there is a change in the floor level.
- Adjust sinks, counters and cupboards to a more convenient height.
- Create a knee-space underneath sinks to allow you to work from a seated
position (making sure to insulate any exposed hot-water pipes first).
- Install grab bars within easy reach of the bathroom sink and toilet and
in the bathtub.
- Install non-slip flooring in the bathroom and in the bathtub.
- Install single-lever faucets to more easily control water flow and
temperature.
- Add or lower rods or shelves in closets, and add off-floor shelves near
entrances for shoes and boots.
- Repair windows and sliding doors so that they can open and close
easily.
- Consider installing easy-to-grasp door handles, easy-to-operate door
locks, as well as security grilles at windows that are vulnerable to
forced entry.
- Lastly, if you have an aging parent, relative or friend, you may want
to consider adding a garden suite on the same lot as your home. Garden
suites are small, prefabricated, portable and self-contained homes that
enable seniors to live close to their relatives or friends, while
maintaining their independence and privacy - and giving family members
or friends greater peace of mind.
For more information or free copies of the CMHC Self-Assessment Guide
Maintaining Seniors' Independence Through Home Adaptations, the fact sheet
Preventing Falls on Stairs fact sheets on universal design ideas that can make
your home safer and easier to live in, or for general information on CMHC's
renovation programs, including those for garden suites, call CMHC at 1 800
668-2642 or visit CMHC's Web site at www.cmhc.ca. For over 60 years, Canada
Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has been Canada's national housing
agency, and a source of objective, reliable housing expertise.
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