There’s no doubt where seniors want to live as they age. The majority of seniors polled in recent industry surveys say they want to stay at home. In fact, one recent survey showed that seniors fear loss of indepen­dence more than death. But is “home” an accident waiting to happen?

“Adult children worry about their aging parents’ ability to live on their own and it’s a legitimate fear,” said Fran Fox, owner of Home Instead Senior Care in Somers Point, whose caregivers provide non-medical, in-home care and companionship to seniors in Atlantic and Cape May counties. “Many seniors and their families don’t think about the fact that homes must adapt to the changing needs of seniors as they age until there’s an accident.”

There are a number of potential pitfalls in a home, she said. They run the gamut from accessibility to lighting to trip-and-fall haz­ards.

“We see many problems dur­ing the home-safety reviews we conduct for clients,” said Fox. “We check 50 different items throughout a home including the entrance, living areas, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and stair­ways.”

For as many problems as there might be, there are just as many solutions and most are simple and inexpensive, experts say. Convincing seniors, on the other hand, is another story.

Dr. Danise Levine, assistant director of the IDEA Center at the SUNY (State University of New York) Buffalo School of Architecture, said that denial often comes into play with seniors.

“We see a lot of seniors who don’t want to admit they’re get­ting older so they don’t want to make changes in their homes,” Levine said.

Those issues can result in seniors adapting behavior to their environment, creating potentially dangerous situations, said Levine, whose IDEA Center is dedicated to improving the design of envi­ronments and products by mak­ing them more usable.

“If a senior has problems getting off the toilet, he could develop a several-step process of using a window sill, shower curtain and towel bar to get up,” she said. A window sill and towel bar will eventually pull away and break. A shower curtain will tear under the strain, creating the potential for an accident.

Unfortunately, many home-makeover changes are responsive rather than proactive. Too often changes aren’t made until some­thing has happened to the senior that requires immediate home renovations.

That is why it’s important for a professional to conduct a home assessment to identify various safety pitfalls.

While many fixes are simple and inexpensive, others might involve a remodeling project to help a senior remain at home.

“That first, important step is to make an objective assessment of what needs to be done to keep them at home,” Fran Fox said. “It’s one of the most important services that our Home Instead caregivers provide.”

For more information about the company’s 50-item home checklist, contact Fran Fox at (609) 927-0203 or www.homeinstead.com/669.