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Show Get yoif home safeguarded! ji -i - va r if t ll r I' ri v' S . , I ly, .. . Since the beginning of time, man has sought to control his environment in order to survive. Today, gerontologists, designers and architects are making strides toward creating liveable home environments for the vast majority of the nation's nearly 30 million elderly who wish to live independently in their own homes. According to Andrew S. Dibner, Ph.D., a leading gerontologist and psychologist, psy-chologist, by adjusting home environments environ-ments to accommodate the needs of elderly individuals and creating safer and more secure places to live, older Americans can maintain a sense of dignity dig-nity and independence. "As people age," Dibner explained, "they need some mechanism to ensure their physical safety and psychological comfort so that they can remain independent in-dependent and vital, living in their own home." Deeply involved in the personal and societal implications of aging, in 1973 Dr. Dibner invented the nation's first personal emergency response system: Lifeline. In case of emergency, this popular j system brings medical assistance with . the push of a small remote-controlled i help button worn around a person's ! neck or wrist. The signal is then transmitted trans-mitted to the sponsoring health organi zation via phone lines where it is received by trained operators who may dispatch emergency assistance immediately immedi-ately if necessary. Lifeline is currently current-ly available through approximately 1,700 hospital and health care organizations organi-zations around the country. Lifeline has proven especially effective effec-tive for people who have fallen in their homes. According to Dr. Dibner, loss of hearing, vision, muscular strength, memory and balance, all common to the aging process, often result in falls which constitute 95 percent of all injuries incurred by people over 65. However, Dr. Dibner and other experts in the field of home safety agree that nearly half of the falls occuring today can be prevented by making simple changes in kitchen, bathroom, stairway, stair-way, livingroom and bedroom areas. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) believes that injuries in-juries result from hazards that are easily eas-ily overlooked, but also easy to repair. The following tips and recommendations recommenda-tions will help to make your home, or the home of an older person you care about, a better place to live: safer, more comfortable and easier to manage. Make sure all areas of home are well-lit; install night lights and light switches near doors. Remove cords from walkways and from underneath furniture or carpeting; carpet-ing; replace damaged or frayed cords; use rugs with skid resistent backing. Install ramps where necessary. Apply textured strips or appliques on floors of tubs and showers; attach grab bars to wall and to sides of bath tub; use stool with no skid tips as a seat while showering or bathing. Place phone, light or light switch near bed. Make sure stairs are well lit with no glare or shadows; install light switches at either end of stairwell; install in-stall handrails that extend full length of stairwell. Make certain carpets are firmly attached in every room. While following these tips will prevent pre-vent dangerous accidents in the home, they do not offer a total guarantee of safety. For a sense of security in knowing know-ing that immediate medical assistance is available in case of emergencies, consider installing a personal emergency emergen-cy response system. For a free copy of the U.S. Consumer Con-sumer Product Safety Commission's booklet, "Home Safety Checklist for Older Consumers" and further information infor-mation on a Lifeline program near you, call 1-800-451-0525. f JUL '86 A PERSONAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE SYSTEM by Lifeline, provides older Americans Ameri-cans with a safer and more secure environment allowing them to remain independenl in their own homes. In case of an emergency, this popular system summons medical assistance as-sistance with the push of a small remote-controlled help button. This device can be worr around a person's neck or around the wrist as depicted on the gentleman in the above photo, f |