Home Safety Evaluations & Modifications

What Are Home Safety Evaluations?

At Advantage Physical Therapy Associates & Wellness, we know how important it is for many of our patients to live independently in the comfort of their own homes for as long as possible. In fact, according to a 2010 AARP study, 80% of adults aged 50 or older prefer to age in their own homes, as opposed to a senior living community.

Because of this, an important part of our in-home physical therapy plans include home safety evaluations. These evaluations help determine any modifications that should be made around the home, in order to make daily activities easier and more comfortable for our patients. To learn more about our home safety evaluations and how they can help you achieve independence at home, contact Advantage Physical Therapy Associates & Wellness today.

Home Safety Evaluations – Defined:

At Advantage Physical Therapy Associates & Wellness, we want to make sure your home life is as safe as possible. During a home safety evaluation, one of our dedicated team members will assess your home to make note of any potential risks. They will then provide you with the tools you need to adapt your home to your standards of living. This may include ergonomic changes, rearrangement of furniture, and any other assisting tools that can help you participate in your daily activities to the best of your physical ability, without running the risk of injury or falls.

Home modifications can also benefit clients of all ages with health conditions, sensory or movement impairments, or cognitive disorders by supporting the performance of necessary and desired daily activities, safety, and overall well-being.

What are home modifications and how will they help me?

Home modifications are changes made to adapt living spaces, in order to increase usage, safety, security, and independence at home. The home modification process includes evaluating needs, identifying and implementing solutions, training, and evaluating outcomes that contribute to the home modification. 

The results of this process may be recommendations for alterations, adjustments, or additions to the home environment through the use of specialized, customized, off-the-shelf, or universally designed technologies. This may include low- or high-tech equipment, products, hardware controls and cues, finishes, and any other features that may affect the layout and structure of the home.  This is all done in order to help you move around more comfortably in your home and reclaim your independent living.

Schedule a home safety evaluation today:

Our team at Advantage Physical Therapy Associates & Wellness is passionate about helping our patients live on their own terms. We will work closely with you to help you reach your individual goals and ensure both your safety and independence within your home environment. 

Our team is highly skilled at recognizing how your  environment may affect your ability to perform desired activities. Our physical therapists will evaluate your balance, coordination, endurance, safety awareness, strength, attention, problem solving, vision, communication, and many other functions, while you perform your daily tasks. In addition to performance abilities, our physical therapists will also evaluate the home environment to identify barriers to performance. For instance, features can be identified that increase the risk of falls (such as loose banisters) or present other hazards (such as overloaded electrical outlets). Our team will also review aspects of the home that may require modification to facilitate performance. For example, secure upper-body supports (such as handrails or grab bars) can assist someone who has difficulty balancing during functional mobility and self-care activities. 

As part of our evaluation, our physical therapists will also analyze how you interact with the environment to complete a task or activity. Through this process, modifications and intervention strategies are selected, in order to maximize safety and independence in the home. The intervention plan may include, but is not limited to, strategies such as adaptive equipment, lighting, family caregiver training, or remodeling.

Are you looking to reclaim your independence in your own home? At Advantage Physical Therapy Associates & Wellness, we want to make that happen. Contact us at Oakbrook Terrace, IL center today to find out how our home safety evaluations can benefit you.