Safety is an important issue in caring for a person with Alzheimer’s disease. Even with the best-laid plans, accidents can happen. Checking the safety of your home, keeping the person from wandering and preventing him or her from driving when driving skills decline are some ways you can minimize hazardous situations.

Home Safety

Caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s often have to look at their homes through new eyes to identify and correct safety risks. Creating a safe environment can prevent many stressful and dangerous situations.

Install secure locks on all outside windows and doors, especially if the person is prone to wandering. Remove the locks on bathroom doors to prevent the person from accidentally locking himself or herself in.

Use childproof latches on kitchen cabinets and any place where cleaning supplies or other chemicals are kept.
Label medications and keep them locked up. Also make sure knives, lighters and matches, and guns are secured out of reach.

Keep the house free from clutter. Remove scatter rugs and anything else that might contribute to a fall. Make sure lighting is good both inside and out. Consider installing an automatic shut-off switch on the stove to prevent burns or fire.

Keeping the person safe is one of the most important aspects of caregiving. Some people with Alzheimer’s have a tendency to wander away from their home or their caregiver. Knowing what to do to limit wandering can protect a person from becoming lost.

Make sure that the person carries some kind of identification or wears a medical bracelet. If he or she gets lost and is unable to communicate adequately, this will alert others to his or her identity and medical condition. Keep a recent photograph or videotape of the person to assist police if the person becomes lost. Consider enrolling the person in the Alzheimer’s Association Safe Return program if one exists in your area.

Keep doors locked. Consider a keyed deadbolt or an additional lock up high or down low on the door. If the person can open a lock because it is familiar, a new latch or lock may help.

Secure or put away anything that could cause danger, both inside and outside the house.

Driving Safety

Making the decision that a person with Alzheimer’s is no longer safe to drive is difficult, and it needs to be communicated carefully and sensitively. Even though the person may be upset by the loss of independence, safety must be the priority.

Look for clues that safe driving is no longer possible, including getting lost in familiar places, driving too fast or too slow, disregarding traffic signs, or getting angry or confused.

Be sensitive to the person’s feelings about losing the ability to drive, but be firm in your request that he or she no longer do so. Be consistent — don’t let the person drive on “good days” but forbid it on “bad days.”

Ask the doctor to help. The person may view the doctor as an “authority” and be willing to stop driving. The doctor can write a “prescription” to “stop driving,” and also can contact the Department of Motor Vehicles and request that the person be re-evaluated.

If necessary, take the car keys. If just having keys is important to the person, substitute a different set of keys.

If all else fails, disable the car or move it to a location where the person cannot see it or gain access to it.

You can never know for sure if you will need long-term care. Maybe you will never need it. But an unexpected accident, illness, or injury can change your needs, sometimes suddenly. The best time to think about long-term care is before you need it.

Planning is Good

Planning for the possibility of long-term care gives you time to learn about services in your community and what they cost. It also allows you to make important decisions while you are still able. You will need to make

health decisions
legal decisions
financial decisions.

Begin by thinking about what would happen if you became seriously ill or disabled. Talk with your family and friends about who would provide care if you needed help for a long time.

You might delay or prevent the need for long-term care by staying healthy and independent. Talk to your doctor about your medical and family history and lifestyle. He or she may suggest actions you can take to improve your health.

Healthy eating, regular physical activity, not smoking, and limited drinking of alcohol can help you stay healthy. So can an active social life, a safe home, and regular health care.

Planning for long-term care includes legal planning. That means creating official documents — often called “advance directives” — that state your wishes for medical care in an emergency and at the end of life. You can also decide who will make health care decisions for you if you cannot make them yourself.

It is important to consider what you want before you need long-term care. Discuss the options with family members, a lawyer, and others. These discussions can be hard, but telling others your wishes ahead of time answers questions they might have later and takes the burden off your family.

Experts recommend creating three types of legal documents, or advance directives. These are

a health care power of attorney
a living will
a do-not-resuscitate order, if desired.

A Durable Power of Attorney

A health care power of attorney, also called a durable power of attorney for health care, is a legal document that names the person who will make medical decisions for you if you cannot make them yourself. This health care “agent” or “proxy” is your substitute decision maker. The person you choose should understand and respect your values and beliefs about health care. Talk with that person to make sure he or she is comfortable with this role.

A Living Will

A living will, also called a health care directive, is a legal document that records your wishes for medical treatment near the end of life. It spells out what life-sustaining treatment you do or do not want if you are terminally ill, permanently unconscious, or in the final stage of a fatal illness. For example, the document can state whether or not you want to receive artificial breathing if you can no longer breathe on your own.

A Do-Not-Resuscitate Order (DNR)

A do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order tells health care providers not to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or other life-support procedures if your heart stops or if you stop breathing. A DNR order is signed by a health care provider and put in your medical chart. Hospitals and long-term care facilities have DNR forms that a staff member can help you fill out. You do not have to have a DNR order.

Get Professional Help

Lawyers and other professionals can help you create legal documents to ensure that your health care wishes are expressed. These experts understand state laws and how changes, such as a divorce, move from your home, or death in the family, affect the way documents are prepared and maintained.

Financial planning is another important part of long-term care planning. Government health insurance programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, pay for some long–term care services but not others. Most people do not have enough money to pay for all of their long-term care needs, especially if those needs are extensive or last a long time.

Think about your financial resources and how you feel about using them to pay for long-term care. These resources may include Social Security, a pension or other retirement fund, personal savings, and income from stocks and bonds. Your home is another type of asset that could be used if needed.

It’s a good idea to review your insurance coverage, too. Many health insurance plans provide little, if any, coverage for long-term care. Review any private health insurance, Medicare, and Medigap policies to learn exactly what is covered and what is not.

What Is Long-Term Care?

Long-term care for seniors involves a variety of services designed to meet a person’s health or personal care needs during a short or long period of time. These services help people live as independently and safely as possible when they can no longer perform everyday activities on their own.

Long-term care is provided in different places by different caregivers, depending on a person’s needs. Most long-term care is provided at home by unpaid family members and friends. Care can also be provided by paid caregivers, usually at home, but also in a facility such as a nursing home.

The most common type of long-term care is personal care — help with everyday activities, also called “activities of daily living.” These activities include bathing, dressing, grooming, using the toilet, eating, and moving around — for example, getting out of bed and into a chair.

Long-term care also includes community services such as meals, adult day care, and transportation services. These services may be provided free or for a fee.

People often need long-term care when they have a serious, ongoing health condition or disability. The need for long-term care can arise suddenly, such as after a heart attack or stroke. Most often, however, it develops gradually, as people get older and frailer or as an illness or disability gets worse.

Long-term care can last a short time or a long time. Short-term care lasts several weeks or a few months while someone is recovering from a sudden illness or injury. For example, a person may get short-term rehabilitation therapy at a nursing facility after hip surgery, then go home.

Long-term care can be ongoing, as with someone who is severely disabled from a stroke or who has Alzheimer’s disease. Many people can remain at home if they have help from family and friends or paid services. But some people move permanently to a nursing home or other type of facility if their needs can no longer be met at home.

About 70 percent of people over age 65 need some type of long-term care during their lifetime. More than 40 percent need care in a nursing home for some period of time.

It is difficult to predict how much or what type of long-term care a person might need. Several things increase the risk of needing long-term care.

Age — The risk generally increases as people get older.
Gender — Women are at higher risk than men, primarily because they often live longer.
Marital status — Single people are more likely than married people to need care from a paid provider.
Lifestyle — Poor diet and exercise habits can increase a person’s risk.
Health and family history — These factors also affect risk.

Thank you for reading our post on Long-term care for seniors.