Safety in Senior Living Communities

6 Ways You’re Safer at a Senior Community Than in Your Own Home

No matter your age or where you are in life, personal safety is always paramount. With age, safety needs or concerns can change. Many older adults worry about falls, forgetfulness, or even abuse, but a quality senior living community will help mitigate these risks and keep residents safe.

When evaluating a senior living community, it is important to note the safety features and programs that will help keep you or your loved one safe. This list will help you know what to look for so you can do any additional research and ensure top safety. 

1. Administration of Medications: 
The risk: The mishandling of medications is a statistically significant metric that occurs often with older adults. For many people, an increase in medication quantities and dosage instructions can be overwhelming and easy to mix-up. Medication errors, especially over an extended period of time, can be detrimental to their health and wellbeing.  

The benefit at Three Pillars: Quality senior living communities have organized methods of medication delivery and ongoing staff training to ensure steadfast accuracy every time. This service is offered in most living options on our campus.

2. Assistive Devices and Architectural Features: 
The risk: Improper installation or lack of assistive devices can lead to falls. For some people who live on their own, the design or architecture of their living environment simply doesn’t allow for the assistive devices they need. For others, a lack of knowledge or ability to obtain the devices can prevent them from accessing these needed features.

The benefit at Three Pillars: Many of our apartments and rooms include raised toilets, handrails, assistance bars, and slip-resistant floors. Architectural designs such as built-in handrails in hallways, sliding doors, zero-entry showers, and more provide all-encompassing safety. Each of these greatly reduces the chance of a fall.

3. Elder Abuse: 
The risk: Tragically, we all know that elder abuse is real. Older adults are the unfortunate victim of abuse more often than most people realize. 

The benefit at Three Pillars: We feel strongly about being proactive, staying educated, and encouraging others to be advocates as well. At the core of our mission is providing high-quality services to the older adults we serve. All employees are trained at hire and annually on understanding the risks, warning signs, and reporting requirements for suspicion of abuse. All residents who reside at our community have the strength of a full interdisciplinary employee team on their side to help prevent abuse.

4. Security:
The risk: A safe and secure home means peace of mind and protection from break-ins, vandals, or theft. Home security can be hard for an older adult to maintain in their own private residence as they age. 

The benefit at Three Pillars: Senior communities address these concerns with a variety of components and protocols, so security is a strong built-in feature for all residents who live there. Three Pillars has security cameras to monitor the property’s entrances, locked doors, video intercoms for visitors, staff photo identification policies, visitor and vendor badges, and campus staff dedicated to building and campus security.

5. Lighting:
The risk: Falls are often directly correlated with poor lighting. It can be difficult for an individual to maintain adequate lighting in their own home at all the right times and in all the right places as they get older. A burnt-out bulb may go unchanged because they’re not able to climb a ladder to change it, or a nighttime trip to the restroom may be in the pitch dark where safety lighting could not be installed.

The benefit at Three Pillars: Senior communities have bright lights in all the right places, such as hallways, bathrooms, and living spaces, and they often have built-in timers or motion-activated features to allow for optimal comfort while keeping residents safe. These well-thought-out lights and personal suggestions for a resident’s particular living space reduce the chances of a fall due to poor lighting.

6. Fire Safety: 
The risk: The National Fire Protection Association notes seniors 65 and older are at twice the risk of injury or death during a fire emergency compared to the general population. 

“At Three Pillars, we not only plan ahead to prevent safety concerns in the design of our buildings and added features, but we partner with our staff and residents to educate them. We work to prevent what we can and ensure we’re all prepared in the case of an unavoidable safety concern.”

The benefit at Three Pillars: Senior living communities are highly regulated and dedicated to resident safety. You can rest assured they’re equipped with high-quality sprinkler systems, fire-rated safety doors, robust fire prevention and emergency plans, and smoke detectors. These all help keep all residents safe from accidental fires. The staff are also trained regularly to ensure fire safety practices are well-rehearsed. Drills and education are provided often to residents, as well. There’s a level of fire safety offered at a senior community that you just can’t get in your own home.