Bathrooms are often the biggest safety concerns in a person’s home, especially as the person gets older. Losing your balance or being as confident when walking can be particularly frightening when getting out of the shower or going to the bathroom at night when it’s dark. According to this article in the International Journal of Medicine, approximately 30%-50% of fall incidents are due to extrinsic factors like slippery floors, poor lighting and uneven surfaces. The good news is there are plenty of design solutions specifically for the bathroom to help make it a safer place to access.

A Walk-In Tub Can Prevent Falls

There may come a time when stepping up to get in the shower simply isn’t possible. A walk-in tub is ideal for these situations since you barely have to raise your feet to get in. They are typically easy to install and can be incorporated into most bathroom designs. The handles can be customized so they are easy to reach and operate no matter what your physical limitations are. Combine the walk-in tub with a non-slip surface inside it and grab bars to help you get up from the seat and you’ll be able to enjoy a relaxing bath and have peace of mind at the same time.

Add A Built-In Shower Chair

Another problem seniors sometimes struggle with is being unable to stand for more than a couple of minutes. Standing in the shower can cause the legs to weaken and lose balance, which can be particularly dangerous when standing on wet surfaces. A built-in shower chair can be a great solution so you can enjoy a shower from a seated position. Combine it with a removable showerhead so you can clean your entire body without having to stand for extended periods. 

Grab Bars Offer Stability And Improved Balance

Grab bars are some of the most popular bathroom safety products because they are easy to install, cost-effective and provide a great amount of stability and peace of mind. You can have grab bars installed in your shower or bathtub, by your toilet, around your sink and anywhere else you feel you need extra stability. These are much stronger than towel bars, which can fall off the wall with very little weight. With grab bars, if you happen to lose your balance, you can feel confident grabbing onto them and knowing they will be stable.

Next Day Access offers an assortment of bathroom safety products to create a safe environment and make you feel confident in your bathroom. Whether you’re a senior with limited mobility or if you’ve experienced a recent injury that has limited you physically, we have plenty of solutions to help you have peace of mind on the slippery surfaces of your bathroom. We are available to provide you with a free home assessment to evaluate your needs, so don’t hesitate to contact us to schedule yours today.

For a building to be ADA-compliant, every aspect of the structure applies. This can get tricky with older buildings that may have been built before the ADA was enacted, but it is still possible to become compliant with some modifications. As accessibility standards have changed over the years, one challenge that has remained is making bathrooms compliant. It’s difficult to work with small spaces to make them wheelchair accessible, so sometimes a little creativity is required. Here are some of the most overlooked mistakes when it comes to bathroom compliance.

Improper Placement Of Grab Bars

Grab bars are essential to have in bathrooms to help people sit down and get up safely. However, the importance of the exact placement of these grab bars sometimes gets overlooked. To be ADA-compliant, grab bars need to be at least 1.5” away from the wall or any other structure to make them simple to grab. You also want them to be at a comfortable height and even angled in a way to make them more usable for a person with disabilities.

Sink And Mirror Height

A wheelchair accessible sink means it needs to be no taller than 34” from the ground. The issue many establishments run into is standard models of sinks come 36” from the ground. The sink also needs to be at least 60” away from the toilet, which presents problems in small bathrooms.

Mirrors may also need to be adjusted to become completely ADA-compliant. This means they are no taller than 40” from the floor so a person in a wheelchair can use it with ease. Many restrooms have mirrors much taller than this, which doesn’t make it wheelchair accessible.

Inward-Swinging Bathroom Doors

An inward-swinging bathroom door can cause problems when it comes to wheelchair accessibility. The turning clearance for a person in a wheelchair becomes compromised and can impact their ability to close the door behind them. An outward-swinging door is more ideal for a person in a wheelchair, but you have to make sure it’s not too heavy to the point where assistance is required to open it.

Toilet Flush Levers

You may not have noticed this before or paid any attention to it, but toilet flush levers need to be on the stall’s open side to be ADA-compliant. This prevents the person from having to reach across the toilet to flush it. This small detail gets overlooked frequently, but the good news is most of the time the tank can be replaced rather than having to take out the whole thing and get a new one.

Next Day Access takes accessibility standards seriously. We help homeowners and business owners create better and more accessible environments by providing accessibility and mobility products. Our products fall within ADA standards and we can help your building move forward to being ADA-compliant. Don’t hesitate to contact us at any time to schedule a free assessment and see how we can help.

When you’ve lived in your home for many years, it’s easy to get used to how everything is laid out and be comfortable with the arrangement. However, when your mobility becomes limited due to getting older or suffering an injury or disability, some adjustments may have to be made. Once you’ve identified clear problems or slowly start noticing everyday tasks and movements getting harder to do, you can take action to solve them. Whether you need a stair lift or the installation of grab bars in places, here are some of the common problems people face with accessibility, as well as the solutions.

Difficulty Using Exterior Entrance

Entering the home can sometimes get challenging since there will usually be at least one step to take. For a small step, you might be able to use a threshold ramp so you don’t have to lift your feet as high. For multiple steps, a full wheelchair ramp can be installed to provide a gradual slope for you to walk on to enter. And of course, grab bars can be installed on either side of the entryway to provide something solid to grab for stability.

The Bathtub Requires A Big Step To Enter

The bathroom is one of the most common rooms where slip-and-fall injuries occur due to wet surfaces. One way to reduce this risk is by modifying your bathtub space or installing a walk-in tub to remove the step. Grab bars are essential as well since they offer something stable to grab and improve balance. If you feel uncomfortable in the bathroom for any reason, it’s time to look into accessibility solutions before an accident happens.

Cannot Reach Items In The Kitchen

Kitchen modifications are often the most costly since there sometimes isn’t a single product to solve problems. You may have to rearrange your kitchen by moving things from the higher cabinets to the lower ones. Sink faucets that are hard to reach can be remedied by using an extension arm. Replacing your large refrigerator or freezer with a smaller one that’s easy to reach can be valuable as well so you don’t have to extend your arms as much and potentially lose your balance.

Stairs Are Challenging To Climb

Stairs are often the biggest problems people face when it comes to home accessibility. Installing a stair lift is the most obvious and effective solution and can be achieved quickly by a professional. Once it’s installed, simply sit on the seat of the stair lift, press a button and it will transport you up and down the stairs without having to lift a foot. You’ll feel much more confident navigating your stairs and can enjoy the entirety of your home more.

Next Day Access can help you identify accessibility problems in your home you didn’t even know you had. Safety is the number one priority for people living at home, and we offer accessibility products and solutions to achieve it. Don’t hesitate to contact us to schedule a free home assessment to solve accessibility problems in the home.

People often ask what makes a home completely accessible even for a person with mobility limitations. Whether you have a loved one with mobility concerns or if you have trouble getting around in your own home, many different solutions can help. A wheelchair ramp and grab bars are easy enough to install, and we’ve discussed other features below that can make any home more accessible.

Ensure Entrances Are Accessible

Entryways can be challenging since most of them have at least a small step-up to enter the home. Sometimes it may be small enough where a threshold ramp can help significantly. Other times, installing a full wheelchair ramp may be the most ideal solution. It’s important to have a professional install the wheelchair ramp you choose since they have to measure the slope, turns and many other factors unique to your home layout. Wheelchair ramps today are very durable and can withstand almost all weather elements. And to make them even better, they can be customized to ensure the curb appeal of your home doesn’t get compromised by installing one.

Bathroom Modifications To Consider

The bathroom is sometimes the first room people want to focus on when modifying their homes. Slip-and-fall accidents happen often in the bathroom and most of the time they are preventable by taking a few safety precautions. Installing grab bars in the shower, by the toilet and other areas you walk is a great place to start. These provide added stability in case you lose your balance and can even prevent you from losing your balance to begin with. Other possible solutions include lowering your sink to make it easier to reach, replacing your shower with a walk-in tub, improving the lighting for nighttime bathroom trips, installing a wheelchair-accessible shower and more.

Make Doorways Wider

Doorways throughout the home can make for tight fits if you use a wheelchair or mobility scooter to get around. You can make the doorways slightly larger by removing the interior doors, replacing the door for a different version, using different hinges that swing away or doing more significant modifications. You should be able to move around your home as freely in a wheelchair as you would walking, and these simple modifications can make it possible.

Don’t Forget Outdoor Accessibility

Indoor accessibility gets a lot of focus since most people spend the majority of their time indoors. But if you have a back porch with a nice yard you like to spend time in, then a porch lift is an accessibility product to consider as well. It’s easy to use whether you are walking, in a wheelchair or in a mobility scooter, as you simply get on the platform and it moves you up or down safely without having to use the stairs. Outdoor accessibility shouldn’t be overlooked and a porch lift is a great way to be able to access your yard space.

Next Day Access offers accessibility products designed to help make your home easier to move around in. We offer free home assessments to help you understand all of your options, so contact us today to learn more.

Whether you’re a senior striving for independent living or you’re a caregiver providing care to an aging parent, home accessibility should be considered a necessity, not a luxury. Home accessibility goes well beyond simply having a wheelchair or a mobility scooter to navigate through the home. And most of the time you can make simple adjustments to your home to achieve accessibility without having to break the bank or move to a new home. Just remember the three R’s of low-cost home accessibility: rearrange, restructure and relocate.

Rearrange Furnishings

A wheelchair, walker or mobility scooter can take up valuable space whether it’s parked or actively being used. Moving furniture around is an easy task that can give your home a more open concept and eliminate or reduce trip hazards. Balance concerns are common for seniors, so the more straight-line areas you have to walk in, the more confident you can be. Consider also removing rugs, coffee tables, kitchen islands and even downsizing sofas or couches to free up some space throughout the home.

Restructure Tasks

After rearranging furnishings, you may find accomplishing everyday tasks are much easier. However, depending on the layout of some households, certain tasks may be difficult to make easier or safer. If doing the laundry, getting the mail, mowing the lawn or other tasks are too difficult to do for any reason, consider restructuring them and having someone else take care of them for you. A neighbor could get the mail for you as they get theirs, you could hire someone to mow your lawn and your children may be more than happy to do the laundry for their aging parent. You won’t have to give up your independent living by restructuring tasks in this manner and most people would be more than willing to help.

Relocate Activities

There may come a time when your home is simply too big for what you need or is arranged in a way that makes doing activities difficult. Whether you’ve gotten older and have mobility limitations or an injury has confined you to a wheelchair or mobility scooter, it doesn’t mean you have to find a new home. If the bedroom and office space are on the top floor and the kitchen, dining room and living areas are on the bottom floor, consider relocating some of the rooms temporarily if possible. The more activities you can accomplish on one floor, the less moving you’ll have to do and can continue independent living as a result.

Next Day Access believes you should live comfortably in their homes without limitations, and sometimes all it takes are minor adjustments. We offer an extensive line of mobility products and devices to help you navigate your home as simply as possible. If you’ve realized your home is not quite as accessible as you need it to be, think about the three R’s and contact us to schedule a free home assessment.

Many seniors or people with mobility concerns learn to deal with any obstacles or challenges in their homes because they don’t know of a solution to help. According to this AARP Fact Sheet, greater than one million older people with some type of disability live in a home that has barriers to meeting daily needs safely. Sometimes it may take major renovations to a home, depending on its existing layout, but most of the time small adjustments can make a significant impact. Here are a few adjustments to consider making in your home.

Widen Walkways By Rearranging Furniture

If your living space isn’t quite as spacious as you’d like, consider rearranging it to create more of an open concept, if possible. It’s especially important to rearrange furniture if you need to use a wheelchair, walker or scooter to move around. You need enough space to make wide turns as safely as possible and prevent losing your balance at the same time. It may be difficult to get rid of furniture that you’ve had and loved for a long time, but if downgrading to something that fits your current needs makes sense, then it’s worth it in the long-run.

Install A Wheelchair Ramp Or Platform Lift

The aging population sometimes doesn’t want to accept the fact that a wheelchair ramp can make their life significantly easier. Wheelchair ramps today can be designed differently to fit specific needs, while also being aesthetically pleasing. Depending on the exterior entrance of the home, or if you have a garage entrance, patio, deck or other entryways with stairs, a vertical platform lift can also be beneficial. The goal is to avoid having to walk up the stairs as much as possible. A wheelchair ramp provides a gradual incline and decline with safety rails to grab. A vertical platform lift doesn’t require you to lift your feet much at all to be raised and lowered to the next level.

Bathroom Adjustments To Consider

The bathroom is where many small home modifications can make the most significant impacts. People with mobility concerns are often nervous taking a shower or bath because of the fear of slipping and falling. Installing simple grab bars in the shower, around the toilet and anywhere else in the bathroom can bring peace of mind. The grab bars provide you with something to hold as you’re walking and they are strong enough to prevent you from falling if you lose your balance.

At Next Day Access, we offer mobility solutions for the aging population, whether you simply need grab bars installed or want to do a full home renovation. When we visit your home to provide you with a free home assessment, we will listen to understand your specific needs and suggest solutions accordingly. You will not feel pressured to make a purchase, as our main goal is to ensure you are comfortable throughout the entire process. To learn more about our products and services, don’t hesitate to contact us at any time.

3 Easy Ways to Avoid Stairs in Your Home

Fall injuries are too common in seniors today. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 30 million older people will fall every year, and approximately 30,000 of those will result in death. While injuries due to falling are common, most of them are completely preventable by being proactive and taking precautions where needed. Stairs are major contributors to falls, as it’s just as easy to lose your balance and fall going up the stairs as it is going down. We’ve taken a look at three alternatives to stairs for you to consider incorporating in your home to make it a safer place to live.

A Wheelchair Ramp Can Replace Stairs

Installing a wheelchair ramp instead of using exterior stairs to enter the home is common. You don’t have to be confined to a wheelchair to benefit from a wheelchair ramp. Even people with limited mobility or poor balance can benefit since it’s much easier to walk up and down a gradual slope rather than lift your feet even just a couple of inches. Wheelchair ramps come in many different shapes and sizes and can be customized to your liking and to fit any unique needs you have. Plus, with various materials to choose from, you can select an option that won’t harm the aesthetics of your home.

Create Safe Accessibility With A Stair Lift

A stair lift is a common accessibility product for people with multi-level homes. When installed properly by a professional, going up and down the stairs is as simple as sitting on the seat, pressing a button and getting transported accordingly. A stair lift can be used whether you have a straight or curved staircase, and you can even install some models outdoors if you have a patio or deck with stairs. The safety and security provided by a stair lift are enough to make people strongly consider installing one, but the main benefit may be allowing you to access every level of your home easier than ever before.

Integrate An In-Home Elevator

An in-home elevator isn’t always thought of as a viable option for some people, but they are actually more reasonable than you may think. Many times an elevator can be incorporated into your existing architecture. You can even leave the current staircase intact if you have other people in the home who can use the stairs and prefer to do so. But for anyone in the home with mobility concerns, an elevator can be an elegant solution to consider.

One of the most common questions we get at Next Day Access is how homeowners can safely use their stairs. The truth is the safest way to use stairs if you have a mobility concern or limitation is to avoid them as much as possible. The good news is these three solutions offer different price points, styles and other options so you can find the perfect fit for you and your home. Don’t hesitate to contact us to schedule a free home assessment and discuss your options.

Most people in the United States will either know someone with a disability or will have one themselves. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 61 million Americans live with a disability, which equates to about one out of every four adults. The severity of disabilities varies among people, though. Some may only require a wheelchair ramp outside of their home, while others may need a complete home renovation. Here are five ways you can easily make your home more accessible.

Install A Wheelchair Ramp

Improving the exterior entrance of your home is simple to do with a wheelchair ramp. Just be sure to have a professional install it for safety purposes and to ensure the slope is exactly what it should be. You can design your wheelchair ramp to be as wide as you need it to and can choose from various materials. Enjoy easy accessibility to your front door without sacrificing any curb appeal of your home.

Place Grab Bars Throughout The Home

Grab bars can be essential for people with mobility limitations or balance concerns. They are most often placed in bathrooms and showers since they provide stability when walking on slick surfaces. However, they can easily be installed anywhere throughout your home if you need them to be. 

Rearrange Living Room And Bedroom Furniture

Whether you’ve experienced an unexpected disability or if you’re simply getting older and unable to move around as easily, rearranging furniture can help tremendously. Couches and recliners can be replaced with smaller versions, or you could even opt for a lift chair to help you get up easier. Rugs may also need to be removed as they can present unnecessary trip hazards.

Invest In A Walk-In Tub

A walk-in tub should be one of the first things to invest in if you have balance concerns. Too many people slip and fall in the shower and injure themselves as a result. A walk-in tub provides much more safety as you don’t have to lift your feet as high to step in and can easily clean yourself without having to move too much. Increase the safety even more by installing grab bars around the tub to conveniently grab when getting in and out.

Widen Doorways And Use Threshold Ramps

If you use a walker or wheelchair to navigate your home, consider widening the doorways if they are a little tight. Some thresholds in doorways can be challenging and create hazards, so using a threshold ramp might be beneficial as well. Limited maneuverability can be dangerous and inconvenient, but can be solved by creating more of an open concept in your home.

Next Day Access offers a wide variety of home accessibility products and solutions to make mobility a breeze. Most of the time home accessibility can be improved without having to completely renovate your space. If you believe your home could be more accessible, don’t hesitate to contact us and we would be happy to provide you with a free assessment.

Getting older sometimes means having to rearrange things in the house that are problematic, even though they never presented any issues before. Whether you’ve experienced a sudden and unexpected disability or if your mobility has become more limited over time, the good news is there are plenty of solutions to ensure you can still move around your home. For instance, something as simple as installing grab bars can make a world of difference to keep you safe in the bathroom. From exterior entrances to tight bathrooms, we’ve examined some parts of homes that may present accessibility challenges.

Outside Home Entrances

Sometimes lifting your feet a few inches off the ground to take a step up and enter your home is easier said than done. If this has become a challenge for you, consider having a wheelchair ramp or threshold ramp installed. A wheelchair ramp can be designed to meet your specific needs, as well as have an aesthetically pleasing appearance so the curb appeal of your home won’t suffer. And if you have a large step or multiple steps to climb before entering your home, then a platform lift can also be a viable option so you don’t have to raise a foot at all.

Bathroom Maneuverability

Many older homes were not built with bathroom maneuverability in mind. As you get older, you may have to use a walker or wheelchair to move around in the home, which can be challenging in a tight bathroom. Depending on how tight yours is, a complete bathroom renovation may be in store. Otherwise, many people are surprised at how much more comfortable they feel entering their bathroom when grab bars are easy to hold onto. Portable showers can also be installed to reduce the risks of slipping and falling in the shower.

Kitchen Designs

New homes today are often built with open kitchen designs, but that wasn’t always the case many years ago. If your kitchen is designed in a way that presents accessibility challenges, there are a few things you can do. Any kitchen islands or tables should be removed and you may even be able to remove lower cabinets to open up the space for easier wheelchair access. 

At Next Day Access, we take great pride in offering a variety of accessibility products to make your entire home easy to access. Grab bars are some of our most popular products since they are easy to install and the benefits are tremendous. We can also help with other home improvements like installing a platform lift, wheelchair ramp, stair lift, and many other aids. If your home presents any accessibility challenges that limit your mobility, contact us to schedule a free home assessment and see how we can help.

The feeling of isolation for seniors can have long-term health consequences. During this time of the COVID-19 pandemic when refraining from social gatherings is recommended, it’s important to find creative ways to remain engaged with your family, friends and the community. According to The United States of Aging Survey, nine out of every ten seniors plan on living in their homes over the next ten years or so. Most people don’t intentionally isolate themselves from others, but it can slowly begin to happen over time. Here are some things you can do as a primary caregiver to help seniors avoid feeling isolated.

Encourage Social Interaction

Even if a senior can’t go out and attend events, there are still plenty of ways to maintain social interactions. Call a different friend or family member every day and consider using video calling so you can see their facial expressions and feel like you’re there with them. Seniors could also interact with their neighbors in person regularly to remain social. As a primary caregiver, you can identify when your loved one is struggling with social isolation and encourage various forms of social interaction to help.

Give Them Proper Mobility Equipment

A major reason why some seniors isolate themselves is because they don’t have confidence when going outside their homes and moving around. You can boost their confidence by providing them with mobility equipment like a mobility scooter, wheelchair ramp, auto lift and anything else they need to make getting out of the house easier. Even seniors who don’t drive a vehicle can get different places using public transportation when they have the right mobility devices and equipment to help them.

Help Them Discover A Sense Of Purpose

Having a sense of purpose is important for everyone’s mental state, especially seniors who may feel isolated. Discovering a sense of purpose could be in the form of planting a garden and maintaining it, volunteering with an organization, cooking meals for those in need and much more. The more a senior feels like they provide value to a certain cause, the greater the chances are they’ll avoid feeling isolated.

Find A Loving Pet They Can Take Care Of

Pets sometimes have a way of getting people to do things they wouldn’t normally do. For example, it’s easy to make an excuse to not go for a walk to get your exercise one day, but if you have a dog that needs to be walked, you’ll most likely take the walk for their benefit. Aside from the health benefits of owning a dog or other pet, the feeling of caring for another creature that depends on you can help with your sense of purpose as well. 

At Next Day Access, we believe one reason why seniors feel isolated is because they feel like they can’t safely leave their homes. Our goal is to remove this fear so seniors can live life the way they want to and feel comfortable doing so. It’s amazing how much peace of mind a senior can have when they have a wheelchair ramp to go down instead of stairs and can hop on their mobility scooter when they need to go somewhere. We would love to help, so contact us today to schedule a free home assessment.