But in addition to in-home care, some tech devices can help your mom or dad stay safe at home. Many of these devices are operated through an app so that you can have access to them as well. That way you can check on your mom or dad any time of the day or night.

The essential tech devices that your senior parent aging at home should have include:

Interior Security Cameras

Interior security cameras allow you to check on your mom or dad whenever you want, to make sure they haven’t fallen or gotten hurt. They can provide both you and your mom or dad with peace of mind because your mom or dad can trust that even if they fall and can’t reach the phone you will check the cameras and find them.

Smart Plugs

All the appliances and lights should be plugged into smart plugs that can be controlled through an app. You can even set up networks for things like lights and set timers. For example, you can set up lights to all turn on automatically when your mom or dad usually wakes up so they don’t have to go downstairs in the dark.

Or your mom or dad can leave the lights on downstairs until they get upstairs safely, then turn them off with an app. Plugging in appliances like the toaster or coffee maker into smart plugs means that you can check them from your home and turn them off if they are left on.

A Video Doorbell

Video doorbells make it easy for seniors to answer the door without getting up. They can video the camera feed from a smartphone or tablet and talk through their device. Your mom or dad won’t have to risk falling and getting up in a hurry to answer the door.

An Electronic Lock

An electronic key code lock is a lot more beneficial than you might think. Your mom or dad won’t have to worry about trying to insert a key into the lock if they go out. They can just press a few buttons to open the door.

But also, a caregiver can be given their code so that they can unlock the door or lock the door behind them without your mom or dad having to get up. You can also open the door remotely if your mom or dad needs medical help to let the medical personnel in.

A Voice Activated Assistant

Voice-activated assistants are wonderful for seniors. They help seniors who have low vision by telling them the news, weather, and other information. They can play music, look up information, make calls, and many other things. Your mom or dad can use their voice to control the lights, the doorbell, and anything plugged into a smart plug through the voice-activated assistant.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring In-Home Care Services in Evesham Township NJ, please contact the caring staff at Attentive Care Inc. at 1-800-493-5660.

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It can be dangerous for seniors. Without air conditioning, seniors can suffer from heat-related illnesses. And seniors who rely on power for medical devices can be left in a dangerous situation if the power is out for a long time.

Seniors that are living independently and their elder care aides should do these things immediately if the power goes out:

Turn Up The Refrigerator And Keep The Door Shut

The first thing that seniors should do if the power goes out is to turn the refrigerator to the coldest setting and leave the door shut. Every time the door opens it will let cool air out and warm air in. Keeping the door shut will help maintain a constant cool temperature inside. That can help preserve the food and drinks inside so that they don’t go bad.

Put Any Medications That Need To Be Kept Cold On Ice

If seniors need insulin or other medications that need to be kept cool it’s a good idea to put them on ice. There are insulated ice packs made specifically for medication bottles. Seniors should have a couple of these on hand. Keep the ice pack for the insulated kit in the freezer. If the power goes out pop the ice pack into the bottle holder and put the medication in the holder. It will keep the medication cold for a long time.

Call The Power Company

Before taking any other action seniors need to know if the power outage is temporary or if it’s going to be off for a long time. Seniors should call the power company and let them know that they are a senior living alone. Often the power company will prioritize getting service restored to seniors and disabled people. If the power is going to be out for just a short time seniors don’t have to leave the home. But if the power is going to be out for days then seniors will need to put their emergency plan into action.

Close Off Rooms

Closing off rooms that aren’t being used is a good way to preserve the current temperature. So seniors should choose one room to hunker down in and close off the other rooms. This will help keep that one room cooler if it’s warm out or keep it warm if it’s cold out. Seniors should also draw the blinds and curtains to help maintain the current temperature. If the house gets too warm or too cool seniors can sit in their car if they have one with either the heat or the AC running. Just remember to leave the window open a little for ventilation.

Sources: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/extreme-heat-is-deadlier-than-hurricanes-floods-and-tornadoes-combined/
https://www.redcross.org/get-help/how-to-prepare-for-emergencies/types-of-emergencies/power-outage.html
https://www.medicalguardian.com/medical-alert-blog/senior-safety-/how-power-outages-affect-older-adults

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring Elder Care Services in Williamstown NJ, please contact the caring staff at Attentive Care Inc. at 1-800-493-5660

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These tips can help seniors make sure that they will be able to age in place safely:

Get 24-Hour Home Care

When seniors have 24-hour home care a caregiver will be in the home and alert around the clock. That means no matter what time of day it is seniors will have someone there to help them make meals, do the housework, help them prevent falls, do activities with them, help them get ready for bed or get up in the middle of the night, and help them get up and get ready to face the day in the morning. 24-hour home care for seniors is a great way for seniors to be safe at home.

Have An Emergency Plan

Seniors that want to age in place need to be ready for any emergency. There could be a storm that knocks out power. Or the water could go out for days. Power failures and outages can make it unsafe to be in the house. Fires and floods can happen too. But seniors can be safe at home if they have a good emergency plan in place that they can follow to get out of the house in the middle of the emergency.

Stay Connected To Family Members

Seniors that stay connected to their adult children or to siblings are much more likely to do just fine aging in place. Video chats, phone calls, even video games can all be good ways for seniors to stay connected with their family members. And when family members are calling, chatting, or getting online with seniors every day your senior parent will be able to have all the social connection and companionship they need while still having their independence.

Give The House A Senior Friendly Makeover

If your senior parent decides that they definitely want to age in place their house may need a senior-friendly makeover. A safety makeover for a senior’s existing home may include doing things like fixing any cracks in the driveway or the walk to the house. It can mean getting rid of area rugs and installing wall-to-wall carpet. Or it can mean putting in new lighting and other safety measures like grab bars so that seniors will be safe living in the home.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring 24-Hour Home Care Services in Cherry Hill NJ, please contact the caring staff at Attentive Care Inc. at 1-800-493-5660

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Of those injuries that require medical attention, around 10% of them involve a hip fracture, which is a debilitating injury that often requires surgery and physical and occupational therapy to prevent additional falls and hospitalizations.

The last thing you want is for your mom to fall and injure herself. What can you do to heighten home safety and lower her fall risk?

Install Grab Bars and a Non-Slip Bath Mat

The bathroom needs to have a non-slip bath mat to avoid a slip and fall while your mom is showering. Conditioner and shampoo can make an acrylic, tile, or fiberglass floor slick.

She also needs grab bars to hold for support when stepping in and out of the shower. Grab bars are also important behind and to the side of a toilet.

Improve Lighting and Remove Items That Can Cause a Trip or Fall

Every area of your mom’s home needs to be well-illuminated. LED light fixtures are brighter than CFL or incandescent ones. Battery-powered puck lights should be placed strategically to light up the stairs and hallways.

Aim for puck lights that turn on automatically when the sun sets or when they sense motion. That helps your mom avoid having to find the light to turn it on.

Go through your mom’s home and remove hazards. Decorative rugs, pet beds, wires, and loose or torn carpeting can all lead to a fall. If your mom has slippery wood or tile floors, she should have slipper socks with traction or a pair of slippers for walking from one room to the next.

Make Sure Smoke/Fire and Carbon Monoxide Detectors Work

Your mom needs smoke/fire and carbon monoxide detectors in her home. Test them to make sure they work. She needs to have them in her main living areas, landings at the top of stairs, bedrooms, and garage.

If there are rooms without a detector, install one. Keep a fire extinguisher in her kitchen, garage, and area where the heating system is located. Check that you have the right type of extinguisher.

• Class A – Wood, paper, cloth, and other ordinary combustibles
• Class B – Grease, oil, solvents, and other flammable liquids
• Class C – Motors, wires, and other live electrical equipment
• Class D – Aluminum and other combustible metals
• Class K – Vegetable and animal fats/oils

Should a fire occur, your mom needs to be ready to get out of her home quickly. When she’s rushed, she’s more likely to trip and fall. A fire extinguisher and early warning are incredibly important in helping her get out safely.

Hire Home Care Assistance Services

Your mom shouldn’t be alone all day if her health affects her mobility or balance. Arrange home care assistance services and have caregivers available to support your mom with her daily care needs.

With home care assistance, your mom has someone available to cook her meals, do the laundry, and accompany her on walks. Call our home care assistance agency to learn more.

Sources: https://www.cdc.gov/injury/features/older-adult-falls/index.html#

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring Home Care Assistance Services in Mullica Hill NJ, please contact the caring staff at Attentive Care Inc. at 1-800-493-5660

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But there are ways that seniors and their family members that worry about them being alone at night can have peace of mind like:

24-Hour Home Care

Seniors who have 24-hour home care have someone with them around the clock to keep them company, help with chores and housework, make meals, and make sure that seniors get around the house safely. No worries about falls in the middle of the night, your senior loved one being scared alone at night or needing help to get out of bed first thing in the morning. 24-hour home care is a game changer for seniors who want to live at home and with their families.

Security Cameras

Having security cameras outside and inside the house gives both seniors and family members peace of mind because seniors know that if they do fall or need help someone is able to see them and seek help even if they can’t get to a phone. And family members can use the drop-in function to see their loved one at any time of the day or night to make sure that they are ok. Also if there is an emergency like a fire or a flood the family members will be alerted immediately so that they can send help right away.

Motion activated security cameras outside the house along with a video doorbell can protect seniors from petty crimes like having their car broken into or someone trying to break into the house. And since the cameras start recording as soon as motion is detected the video footage from any attempted crime can be turned over to police to help them catch the person responsible. Motional-activated cameras and floodlights are fantastic for peace of mind.

Voice Activated Assistant

Voice-activated assistant devices like the Amazon Echo or the Google Home can also provide seniors and their families with peace of mind because seniors can ask the device to call family members or summon help if they need it. Seniors don’t need to worry about making sure they have a phone handy or using an emergency fob to get help from a voice-activated device. All they need to do is speak in a normal voice.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring 24-Hour Home Care Services in Medford NJ, please contact the caring staff at Attentive Care Inc. at 1-800-493-5660

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Scammers may try to cheat seniors by claiming that seniors have outstanding tax debts. They also sometimes will try to convince seniors that they can get an early tax refund by allowing the scammer to file their taxes. Seniors should know that the IRS will never call or use social media to message them. All communications from the IRS will come in letters that are delivered by the USPS.

If you’re worried that your senior loved one could get scammed make sure that they:

Have Home Care

Home care can help seniors avoid getting scammed. A home care provider can be the one to answer any calls to the house phone, which is usually how seniors are targeted. When a care provider answers the phone instead of your senior parent they can listen for the telltale signs of a scam and get rid of the caller before they can talk to your senior parent. The care provider can then block the scammers’ number so that they can’t call back. A care provider can also run interference in other ways to make sure that scammers don’t ever get the chance to directly talk with your senior loved one.

Have Spending Limits On Their Accounts

Another way that you can prevent scammers from taking advantage of your senior loved one is to have spending limits put on their accounts. If you are a cosigner on the accounts you can have a spending limit put on any accounts so that your senior loved one can’t spend more than a certain amount. That way if a scammer does manage to get access to your senior parent’s information they won’t be able to take more than that amount of money. It can limit the amount of damage that a scammer can do if they are successful.

Have a Prepaid Credit Card

Another option for limiting the damage that scammers can do is to get a prepaid debit card for your senior parent to use. They will only be able to spend the amount that is prepaid on the card and once they have hit that limit the card won’t work anymore. That will make it much more difficult for scammers to get any significant amounts of money from your senior loved one.

Have Identity Theft Protection

Tax scammers will often try to get personal information from seniors not just access to their bank accounts. If a scammer gets your senior parent’s information they can steal their identity. Having identity theft protection and monitoring can stop scammers from stealing the identity of your senior parent.

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring Home Care Services in Voorhees NJ, please contact the caring staff at Attentive Care Inc. at 1-800-493-5660

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Computer tech support scams
Government impersonation scams
Grandparent scams
Lottery and sweepstakes scams
Robocalls and phone scams

The FCC is trying to crack down as there are about four million robocalls going out to Americans every month. The FCC issued cease-and-desist notices to any voice service provider where the calls originate. If they don’t stop, their service shuts down.

While this helps, it doesn’t stop all calls, text messages, online chat requests, and door-to-door scams. What can you do to keep your dad safe from scams?

Set Up His Phone Service

If your dad has a cell phone or VoIP phone, take control and change the settings to block all unlisted or unknown callers. If he happens to have a Pixel, Google offers a service where it prescreens calls to only allow legitimate calls to go through after the caller responds to the AI.

When callers slip through, make sure those phone numbers are added to your dad’s blocked caller list. Eventually, the only calls he’ll get are the legitimate ones.

Install a Doorbell Camera

To keep unwanted scammers from your dad’s door, install a doorbell camera. When someone is at his door, you can use the app on your phone or computer to talk to the person. If it’s a legitimate visitor, you can tell your dad it’s okay to open the door. If not, you can tell them to leave and even call the police if they’re being persistent.

Place Warnings Near His Computer

Whether your dad uses a tablet, computer, or laptop, make sure you put a warning note on or near it that offers the important safety rules on the internet. Include items like never giving out his personal information to a stranger, not opening links in emails without first verifying the link is legitimate with the company and using passwords that are not easy to guess.

If your dad forgets his password, he’ll click a “Forgot My Password” link or button on the bank, store, or other online service’s webpage. At that point, he’ll get an email that will likely have a link. He’s expecting that email, so he’s okay clicking the link.

But, if he gets an email from his bank saying he needs to click the link and log in to check his account, he needs to stop and call his bank to verify they sent it. It’s very likely a phishing scam.

Use Home Care Services to Prevent Loneliness

Is your dad alone all week? If so, he is more likely to talk to strangers who come to his door, send him an online message, or call him on the phone. Keep him safe from scammers by making sure he’s not feeling lonely. Arrange home care services to ensure he has others to talk to throughout the week.

Sources: https://ncoa.org/article/top-5-financial-scams-targeting-older-adults
https://www.fcc.gov/spoofed-robocalls

If you or an aging loved one are considering hiring Home Care Services in Williamstown NJ, please contact the caring staff at Attentive Care Inc. at 1-800-493-5660

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