The Safety Age : More people are making their homes ‘senior friendly’ as a way to extend independence.

Two years ago, Sela Miller and her husband, Ted, made a tough decision.

Sela’s mother, Anna, who was 88, was having problems getting around, especially since emphysema had restricted her mobility. The Millers decided to move Anna from Los Angeles to their Santa Ana home.

“It was just the natural thing to do,” Sela said. “But then we had to sit down and figure out how we were going to do it.”

The Millers cleared out a spare bedroom to fit Anna’s electrically assisted hospital bed. Then they modified the bathroom, putting grab bars in the bathtub and a seat extender on the toilet.

There were other changes.

“In our backyard we have a three-step concrete staircase that leads up to the back door,” Sela Miller said. “A short handrail there lets my mother get safely in and out of the yard.”

The modifications the Millers made are not uncommon as the population gets older and more people make their homes “senior friendly.”

“What seniors want is what anybody would want: the ability to live in their home as safely and independently as possible,” said Sherrill Hammel, a health educator at the county’s Area Agency on Aging. “If making some changes to the home will give them that, then that’s what should be done.”

Ruth Matheny, 89, who has lived in her Anaheim home for 40 years, had her house remodeled to meet her needs.

“We added lots of lights inside and out,” said her son, Craig Matheny, “as well as grab bars and nonslip flooring.”

“I like the way my home is so bright now,” Ruth Matheny said. “The addition really opened things up.”

Aesthetics is always appreciated, but making an elderly person’s home safe should be the priority. Illnesses from falls are the sixth leading cause of death for people over 65, Hammel said.

“They can lead to fractures of the hip and other bones and long institutionalization,” she said.

How to see if your home is safe for the elderly?

“It’s a matter of looking at the home and thinking how the space is used by someone who might have trouble moving around,” said Tina Durigon, an Orange contractor whose company, Accessible Environments, specializes in making home improvements for the elderly and the disabled. “There are many hazards that people often overlook.”

Simple, inexpensive improvements can make a world of difference.

The Outside In

* Address numbers should be highly visible on the curb and on the house to guide emergency personnel.

* Lighting, especially around outdoor steps, should be bright.

* Put nonslip strips on steps. Color the edges on the first and last step. Install handrails. Consider covering steps with a ramp, especially if there is only one step.

* Sidewalks and pathways should be smooth and even to make getting around easier for someone who has difficulty walking.

* A garage door opener may prevent a back injury. “Many older homes don’t have them, and a garage door can be hard for anybody to lift,” Durigon said.

* Security is important, especially for the elderly living alone. Deadbolt locks should be installed on all outside doors. Add front-door closures that stay locked when closed.

Window and sliding door locks should be used, and a peephole should be installed in the front door.

* If there isn’t a mail slot in the door, move the mailbox close to the home.

Perils in the Parlor

* Keep floors clear to prevent falls. “A lot of people have clutter in the walkways of their home--newspapers, boxes, things like that,” Durigon said.

* Remove scatter rugs from floors or carpeting. “They may look nice, but they tend to pull up, ripple and cause tripping,” Durigon said.

Use rugs with safety backing to prevent slipping.

* Furniture should be situated to make it easy to maneuver a walker or cane around it, instead of having to twist and turn through an obstacle course. You may need to remove unneeded furniture.

“We had too many things in our small den,” Sela Miller said. “Two bookcases, two tables, three large chairs and a big couch. We had to make some room for my mom to get through.”

Soft, overstuffed sofas and chairs may seem comfortable, but they are a problem for someone who has trouble standing up. “Put a piece of plywood under the cushions to give the couch support. This makes getting up and down easier,” Durigon said.

Make sure tables are conveniently placed. If the table or other furniture has sharp corners that can cause scrapes or bruises, consider putting rubber corner guards, available at stores that sell baby-proofing supplies.

* Route phone and electrical cords away from walkways. Don’t overload outlets, and use a surge protector electrical strip for heavy-use areas.

* Well-lit rooms prevent accidents. Connecting lamps to timer switches, which turn the lights on automatically, aids those who habitually enter dark homes.

Light switches at both ends of the hallway, near the bed and outside the bathroom door help someone illuminate a home quickly. Or night lights attached to motion detectors will help the elderly find their way to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Some night lights with battery backups turn on if the power goes off.

Lighting should be extra bright but not blinding. Incandescent light is less irritating than fluorescent.

Bath Safety

Two catalysts for a serious fall can be found in the bathroom--water and a slick floor.

* Most floor tiles and vinyls are designed not to be slippery when wet, but it doesn’t hurt to get the floor wet and check it out. Floor sealers or waxes can make it dangerously slippery.

Rugs should be used only if they have a thick, nonskid backing. Rubber bathmats or nonskid adhesive strips can be used on the floor of a shower or tub.

* Hospital supply stores sell toilet seat extenders that make it easier to get up and down.

* Grab bars next to the toilet, near the sink and in the shower and tub are helpful. Make sure they are properly installed and attached to a wall stud.

“They have to support a person leaning on them, so if they’re just screwed into the drywall, they’re going to pull out,” said Craig Matheny, who operates Back to Basics, an Anaheim company that specializes in installing grab bars in fiberglass showers and baths.

“In the past, installing a grab bar in a fiberglass bath was expensive because the fiberglass had to be pulled off and some kind of blocking was needed between the wall stud and the fiberglass,” he said. “But we designed an inexpensive product that goes in through the fiberglass and attaches to the stud that can be used to support a grab bar.”

* Single-lever faucets are easier for people with limited hand flexibility. Large wooden levers can be used over smaller knobs. Preset controls can prevent someone from being splashed with scalding or freezing water.

* Elevate the bathroom vanity to avoid having to lean low.

* Convert a bathtub into a shower to prevent tripping over the side. Put a bench in the shower stall.

The Kitchen

* A small, wheeled tea or push cart is ideal for moving food and dishes around.

* Pullout shelves in cabinets can be used to make cans accessible.

“Put heavy items in the lower cabinets,” Durigon said. “Dishes, pans, heavy cans--any of these things are much harder to get to when they’re up high.”

* Hospital supply stores have reachers, long poles with a grabbing mechanism that extends an individual reach into high cabinets.

* A lever extending from the kitchen faucet makes it easier to turn the water on and off.

* An easy-to-handle knob adapter helps those who have trouble turning small knobs on the stove.

* Install overhead sprinklers.

The Bedroom

* A firm, sturdy chair with arms helps someone who needs to sit down while getting dressed.

* Closet organizers make clothes and shoes easily accessible.

* A television remote control with large, clearly marked buttons is easier on the eyes.

* Digital clock radios with oversized numerals are helpful at night.

Overall

* Smoke detectors should be placed in each room and be hard-wired to set off all the detectors in the house. Easy-to-use fire extinguishers should be in the kitchen, garage and on each floor.

* A cordless telephone adds convenience. “A person could run after a ringing phone and trip,” Durigon said. “A cordless phone in another part of the house gives them more time to get to it and also allows them to walk around with the phone.”

* It’s easier to turn on lights with large rocker switches than with standard switches. They can even be activated by an elbow if arthritic hands can’t manage.

* Renovate high thresholds in doorways.

* An emergency alert system, in which paramedics are called when the individual presses a button on a device worn or kept in a pocket, is a valuable security item.

“Keeping the home safe is just part of allowing the individual to maintain their independence,” Hammel said. “That’s just what all of us want.”

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Here’s Who Can Help

Concerned that your home may hold hazards? These groups can help:

* Area Agency on Aging, (714) 567-7500. Provides information for senior citizens and their relatives on health, safety and living arrangement options.

* Orange County Fire Authority, (714) 633-4280. Provides free smoke detectors for seniors’ homes. Representatives will install them and inspect a home for fire hazards.

* Project Ship, (714) 536-5569. A consultant will inspect Huntington Beach seniors’ homes and point out areas that can be made safer.

* American Assn. of Retired Persons, (800) 424-3410. Is in the process of reprinting, then distributing, its free booklet, “The Do-Able Renewable Home.”