Safe and Sound: Staying Secure in a Senior Living Community

One certainty of getting older is the presence of change, and while some of this change can bring positive outcomes, at times, it can also compromise an older adult’s safety and well-being. Aging seniors can face increasing physical challenges, frequent hazards, potential emergencies, and unexpected limitations that make it more difficult to react to risks or threats in a timely and effective manner.

Thankfully, senior living communities make safety and security a priority so adults who are aging can enjoy comfort and peace of mind during their later years. Below, we’ll explore a few of the common measures in place to ensure residents’ safety and well-being.

Community-Centered Protection

When living alone, you sacrifice the enhanced safety and security of a built-in support system – not to mention neighbors and staff members who become like family. Each day, you’ll experience the beneficial social connections that are critical to the total wellness of every person, especially older adults. In a close-knit senior living community, residents look out for each other, notice when there’s a potential problem, and when necessary, ask staff for help.

The key to these communities is that every team of expert residents gets to know well and grows to depend on. Before they’re hired, staff members pass rigorous background checks, and once on board, receive continuous safety and security training to deal with many types of challenges effectively. During their rounds, regular wellness checks are implemented to spot and remedy any issues with residents, so they remain safe and sound at all times.

Personal Emergency Call Systems

Your home should come equipped with a system that enables you to summon help whenever you need it most. Typically, the devices will include a wireless pendant button, a wall-mounted button, and/or a pull cord. You’ll be just a quick moment away from responsive assistance in any personal emergency – whether it be a fall, an accident, a medical emergency, or any other critical circumstances.

Comprehensive Preparedness and Response in Case of Fires and Other Emergencies

Assisted living communities should feature emergency preparedness plans that outline procedures for keeping residents safe in any number of crucial situations. Whether there’s a fire, a natural disaster, severe weather, a power outage, or a medical outbreak or crisis, staff should be trained to respond successfully.

Safety measures should encompass:

• Evacuation routes.
• Emergency shelters.
• Alarm and communication systems that accommodate the hearing and vision impaired with visual and audible alerts.
• Additional assistance for residents with disabilities.
• Consistent fire and emergency drills and training sessions.

Worried about fires in your home and how you would respond? We’ve already outlined some safety measures that apply to fires – add to them the smoke and fire alarms, fire extinguishers, and sprinkler systems that should be essential equipment on the premises. And since residential senior living offers dining services daily, you don’t need to run the thrice-daily risk of causing a fire in your kitchen.

Mobility Support and Accident and Fall Prevention

As you’re aging in your own family home, you might notice the layout of your living space needs adjusting to maneuver safely between rooms. Because assisted living facilities have been designed with a senior’s needs in mind, you’ll benefit from measures that promote your mobility and reduce your risk of falling. They should include:

• Single-floor living and/or ramps and elevators.
• Well-lit homes, common spaces, hallways, pathways, parking areas, and building exteriors.
• Clear, wide doorways, hallways, and pathways without obstacles.
• Easy-to-grip handrails, grab bars, and door handles throughout the property.
• Slip-resistant, smooth flooring materials.
• Safer bathrooms, featuring raised toilets, non-skid surfaces, built-in grab bars, barrier-free showers/tubs, and accessible storage.

In essence, the right senior living community for you should have an accessible layout that accommodates your changing needs. It should provide everything you need to feel safe moving around not only your private space but all around the community as well.

Help with Challenging Daily Living Activities, Chores, and Driving

You can avoid the constant threats, pain, and discomfort that come along with having to do tasks that become more and more difficult each day. While you enjoy spending time in meaningful activities, staff members provide an array of services and amenities. They differ by community and level of care, 

but may encompass:

• Thoughtful, professional staff assistance that’s available around the clock.
• Home maintenance, landscaping maintenance, housekeeping, laundry, and linen services.
• Dining services with healthy meals cooked by chefs and served and cleaned up by staff.
• Engaging activities and events that are planned and coordinated for you.
• Closely supervised gym, group fitness classes, and wellness programs.
• An onsite beauty salon and barbershop for easy personal care.
• Chauffeured transportation to/from offsite appointments and outings.
• Health and wellness programs created by a dedicated director.
• Access to onsite and/or offsite physicians, nurses, and medical professionals.

Seniors who don’t require much aid may prefer the extra privacy that an independent living community grants. Others who do require ample aid should opt for an assisted living community.

Assisted living provides 24/7 supervision and onsite, hands-on support with daily living activities, including bathing, dressing, personal care, and continence care. Staff members can provide escorts for residents around community grounds, and back and forth to medical appointments. A medication management system should prevent grave mistakes, always ensuring you take prescriptions and treatments on time and properly.

Seniors living with Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and other forms of memory loss would benefit from the knowledgeable, specialized support and additional precautions found in a memory care community. There, the community will likely utilize a wander protection system, secured doors, and medication storage, plus increased security, including exit monitoring.

Gated Entrances

Envision the “VIP status” of a community that extends a warm, proper greeting to residents and their guests – plus the enhanced security that comes with a staffed front desk. Gated entrances restrict access to buildings, admitting only those lucky folks who are authorized to pass through its doors.

Key-Controlled Access Areas

Assisted living communities should also feature next-step reassurance in the form of secure entry systems once inside. They help lower the risk of unwanted trespassers into private living spaces and other designated rooms and of residents wandering into stressful, dangerous circumstances.

Trained Security Guards

Reputable assisted living communities should enlist the support of dependable personnel who monitor the grounds outside and the building interiors. As part of their duties, they will follow a protocol when they witness or are alerted to any possible dangers, intrusions, or emergencies, and then act to resolve them.

Video Surveillance

Strategically positioned cameras function as silent guardians in key locations, such as outdoor areas, at entrances and exits, and in common areas. They close security gaps around the entire property – warning unwanted visitors they’re being watched, frightening them away, discouraging criminal activity, detecting “blind spots” like lighting issues, and recording anything that might occur. Staff can monitor the scenario in real-time and take preventative action.

Assisted Living Communities That Value Safety And Security

Renowned leader in assisted living and memory care, Stoney Brook has designed resort-style, Central Texas senior living communities that prioritize safety and security in a fun, relationship-centered setting. Our residents enjoy ample, energizing activities and vital opportunities to socialize often – flourishing daily and aging gracefully.

Schedule a complimentary visit to meet us in person. Plus, continue to explore Stoney Brook’s free, insightful resources, all intended to aid seniors and their caregivers. Subscribe to our blog, and be sure to read our eBook, Your Vital Guide to Senior Living and Care Options in Central Texas. Access your copy now!