Elderly Neighbors

This morning something I feared looked like it was happening.  Everything turned out ok; but I still have a knot in my stomach. 

We have an elderly lady who lives alone next door in a rundown house.  It's technically a double wide trailer; but it's been anchored in place for a long time.  It's in terrible shape.  The woman's health has deteriorated over the last few years to where she isn't driving and it looks like she has been getting some kind of services or home care.  She has a daughter in the area and a grandson that I don't know a current location on.  

Her house really is bad and she is not in a position to repair it. It needs siding, a new roof and trim at a minimum.  Birds actually nest in the soffit and fascia along the back and sides of her house.  She uses a space heater for heat and that alone scares me.  DH and other neighbors have patched holes in the side of the house, fixed light fixtures, etc.  She is very proud of owning her own property and talks about leaving it to her children.  I think it also has ties to her late husband and her independence.  

We were hit by the blizzard last weekend.  Before the storm came DH called her twice and left messages trying to see if she was planning to be home for the storm; and letting her know that if we lost power he would come get her since we have a wood stove.  Her driveway still hasn't been plowed out so we assumed she went to her daughters.  

Fast forward a week; I walked into the kitchen this morning and there was a police car in the road with lights on.  The trooper was talking to our neighbor across the street.  My heart hit my stomach.  I went outside with sopping wet hair and no coat to get my mail.  At that point other neighbors started showing up while the officer and eventually 2 others responded and spent time banging on the windows.  One neighbor was calling hospitals.  The neighbor across the street called for a welfare check because he noticed she hasn't been in her doorway like usual and he hadn't heard from her either.  Eventually they were able to get into her home and no one was there.  I was so relieved.

But I'm kicking myself for not having more contact information for her.  One other neighbor even walked down the street to the home of the person who cuts her grass; but no one was home there.  None of us have her daughter's name or phone number.  Apparently several of us do check in on her. It scares me to see her alone there; but we try to respect her wishes and dignity too.  The neighbor across the street was convinced she had passed alone at home.  He was pretty upset.  The different neighbors I have met have known her for +30 years.  Because we all have decent size properties; I had never met most of these people.  (I'm not exactly known for being outgoing either. )

Going forward; I'm going to do more to be prepared for this kind of situation.  I will ask for emergency contact information for her at least.  I would like to at least put faces and names to our other neighbors.  We've only really gotten to know the people on either side of us.  I've always been concerned if something should happen to her.  I feel guilty for assuming she was ok.  

Bless you for thinking of your neighbor like that.  My father lived alone until he passed away at 93 in a single family house in a neighborhood with very caring neighbors.  Several of them had my phone number for an emergency as well as a key to his house.  Although he lived alone by choice, it greatly relieved his mind to have this kind of back-up support.  I also paid for him to have one of the emergency monitoring services - he had a button he could wear to push if he fell.  

Having my father's neighbors involved saved his life once.  One of them used to go knock on his door every few days and when he didn't answer, the neighbor let himself in and found my father at the foot of the stairs, unable to get up.  He had been there for two days.  (This prompted me to get the monitoring service for him).  it was never clear if he fell down the steps or had a stroke but he would have died without his considerate neighbor.

When my father did ultimately pass away, we knew within the same day because one of his neighbors had checked up on him.  

None of this required my father's neighbors to get involved beyond checking up on him and calling me and/or 911 in  case of an emergency.  My father's neighbors made all the difference to my father and to me, because of the peace of mind they gave us.

Anyway, the point of all this is that I think it would be a very kind and possibly life-saving thing for you to do.  Has your neighbor returned home yet?  

My Grandfather just turned 94 and decided on his own to go into an assisted living facility last year.  He and my other Grandparents all used one of those emergency monitors.  He also had neighbors that would look in on him and there was enough family in the area to handle most of what needed to be done for him.  The couple on on side had been their neighbors for decades and they are younger retirees now.  We could call them any time to check on him.  One neighbor was just as old as he is. They were good for each other.  But he was lonely and it was getting harder to do things for himself.  So after Gram passed and his heart started to give him trouble; he moved forward with it.  He's doing very well in his new home and it's relieving for us to know he has help available 24/7.  

I think it can be difficult to know what to do; how much help a person wants.  Its got to be difficult to lose your independence.  My Grandfather talked about all his friends dying.  I remember DH's grandmother had similar things to say before she passed at almost 99.  Now he has a few other gentlemen peers that he can talk about the war and the old days with.  

MoochNNoodles said:

 
I think it can be difficult to know what to do; how much help a person wants.  Its got to be difficult to lose your independence.  My Grandfather talked about all his friends dying.  I remember DH's grandmother had similar things to say before she passed at almost 99.  Now he has a few other gentlemen peers that he can talk about the war and the old days with.  

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You're right.  It can be very tricky helping the elderly.  My father was an odd combination of jovial clown and lone-wolf curmudgeon so the neighbors had to tread carefully.  He didn't want anyone to feel sorry for him or feel they were helping him from a sense of obligation and would get nasty if he thought that was the motivation.     Really, his neighbors were saints.  

I'm glad it's working out so well with your grandfather!

I think that's a great idea to get some contact info for your neighbors and get to know who they are a little.  

We live at the end of a cul-de-sac with only two other houses.  We're good friends with our next door neighbors, and have keys to each other's houses for emergencies.  The neighbors in the third house really kept to themselves.  They barely even acknowledged a hello wave so we certainly didn't have contact information for them or anything.

One weekend, there was a fire at a utility company substation very near our house.  We were preparing to evacuate.  We called the next door neighbors who were out for a hike with their dog so they were safe.  Then we realized that the other neighbors were gone but their dog was in the house.  We had no way to call them to find out if there was a house key hidden somewhere or if they could get home quick and get their dog out.  I was prepared to break a window in their house to get the dog out, but fortunately the firefighters got it under control and we didn't have to evacuate.

I went over to the neighbor's house later, gave them a piece of paper with our contact info on it and asked for theirs.  They were very appreciative that we would be that concerned about them and their dog.  They're an older couple and it turns out their only son lives in northern California so they really don't have many people around here to look out for them.  Ever since then, they are much friendlier, too.

The funny part was the gentleman gave me their home phone number when I asked for their contact information.    Um--if they're gone and all I have is a home phone number to contact them.... I don't think that will work too well.  Now we've got other contact info for them so we three neighbors can look out for each other in case of emergency.

Margd said:

You're right.  It can be very tricky helping the elderly.  My father was an odd combination of jovial clown and lone-wolf curmudgeon so the neighbors had to tread carefully.  He didn't want anyone to feel sorry for him or feel they were helping him from a sense of obligation and would get nasty if he thought that was the motivation.  

  Really, his neighbors were saints.  

I'm glad it's working out so well with your grandfather!

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The opposite can also happen.  A friend of mine tried to befriend an elderly woman who lived next door to her and was alone.  But the woman really took advantage and was constantly calling my friend to do things for her, and guilt-tripping her if she said no.  It got to be pretty unpleasant.    

betsygee said:

The opposite can also happen.  A friend of mine tried to befriend an elderly woman who lived next door to her and was alone.  But the woman really took advantage and was constantly calling my friend to do things for her, and guilt-tripping her if she said no.  It got to be pretty unpleasant.  

 

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This brings back memories!  When my great aunt was still alive and quite elderly, a much younger man in her apartment building offered her some help with groceries and rides.  She took those offers of help completely the wrong way and became very demanding of his help, his time and even his affections.  The poor guy actually had to move to get away from her.  Shortly after that, she moved into assisted living where she was much happier.  

betsygee said:

 
The opposite can also happen.  A friend of mine tried to befriend an elderly woman who lived next door to her and was alone.  But the woman really took advantage and was constantly calling my friend to do things for her, and guilt-tripping her if she said no.  It got to be pretty unpleasant.  

 

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This lady does flag DH down and run his ear sometimes.    Or she used to.  I'd hear the garage door open but no DH.  And that's how I know she has flagged him down.  She calls sometimes now.  DH used to get caught up talking to the guy on the other side of our house (a guy our age) but they moved.  The funniest part is; DH is NOT a talker.  I think they flag him down because they know he'll listen.    She has had us do some different things for her before.  Nothing has ever taken too long and I'm glad we can help.  It's not so bad when other neighbors help too.  I was actually really relieved to see several other people so concerned for her welfare today.  When we moved here 6 years ago she was still working a couple part time jobs!  She also offered to come help me do some cleaning when my kids were babies.  I think she is about 82-84 years old now.  

Last week when I was out walking in my work neighborhood, I noticed that a driveway hadn't been plowed. This is an all-ages neighborhood, meaning there are young families with children, but also quite a few elderly people. I do know some of the people, simply because I've been walking out through there now for years. In the summer the older people will be out and I'll chat with them for a few minutes; a couple of them seem to wait til they think I'll be coming through, then they'll go out for their mail. I guess I give them somebody to talk to. In the summer, one woman really likes to chat, though, and it's difficult to get away from her; she likes to tell me about her ailments and she's even told me that she was constipated. I know....TMI. But I listen and commiserate. 

I also know some of the police officers; that's pretty much due to my job, more than anything. 

So when I saw that the driveway had not been plowed, nor had the sidewalk been shoveled. when I got back to work, I walked over to the station and talked to one of the police officers. I'm not a Gladys Kravitz, honest I'm not, but I was a little concerned. And since I do know that neighborhood, if I see something out of the ordinary, well, yeah, I'm going to check it out. Well, thankfully, those people were on vacation and they had called the police to tell them they weren't going to be around, so the police knew who I was talking about. My concern was not only that somebody might be stuck inside the house, but also that an unshoveled sidewalk and unplowed driveway is like an open invitation, "Hey, nobody's here! C'mon in and rob us blind!" Know what I mean? Even if people aren't going to be around, I think arrangements should be made to open the driveway, if nothing else, after a snowstorm. 

Since Rick's mom went into assisted living, nobody's been living in the house. Rick made arrangements with a neighbor to shovel the driveway and sidewalks. They also put some timers on some of the lights in the various rooms, so that they turn on and turn back off at certain times; he will change the times as he comes and goes at the house. I stop almost every day on my way home from work to pick up the mail and do a fast check on things.

It's difficult with the elderly sometimes. It's easy for them to become demanding and start to take advantage of your help and support. And it's frustrating. You start to feel like no matter what you do, it's never enough. 

I'm really glad that the woman is OK, Mooch.

betsygee said:

The opposite can also happen.  A friend of mine tried to befriend an elderly woman who lived next door to her and was alone.  But the woman really took advantage and was constantly calling my friend to do things for her, and guilt-tripping her if she said no.  It got to be pretty unpleasant.  :slant:  

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I have this problem with the woman across the street. I get random "I don't feel well, can you come sit with me" calls. One of the other neighbors said that she use to call his wife at 2:00 in the morning with those type of requests!

This kinda thing is part of why I'm glad I live with my mom. She's 78, which isn't exactly 90s but she's had a lot of health problems over the years. And of course a year and a half ago, her prosthetic hip dislocated while she was in the shower, which caused her to fall. No one was home, and the phone was in the living room. She somehow managed to crawl (or butt-walk, actually) into the bedroom. She put on her nightgown and that made her feel better. She rested and then managed to get into the living room. At that point my neighbor was calling again (the neighbor's daughter was going somewhere with my mom that evening and she was trying to solidify things). They had a key to the house, but my mom locked the screen door so they couldn't get in the front way. I'm not sure if they came in the back way, or if my neighbor's other daughter "broke" into the window and then opened the door. Either way, it was quite terrifying and I felt HORRIBLE knowing my mom spent two hours trying to get to the phone.

Thankfully, our neighbors pretty much do stay in contact. But still, it makes me feel better that I'm here also. I'm obviously not at home every minute of the day, but she now keeps both her cell phone and the land line with her at all times. She's only recently gotten to the point she'll shower with no one home, which does un-nerve me a bit. But she always calls me to tell me she'll be taking a shower (or texts me sometimes) so I don't worry if she doesn't answer right away. Then she'll text me again to tell me she's out.

That is scary Donutte! I'm glad she was ok. Having a system where she texts you is a good idea! It's actually a good idea for a lot of situations. My mother does not let my step dad work under his car alone. If they go for a flight they let me know before and after. I prefer to be there to "spot" DH when he is bringing things down from our attic. Accidents can happen to anyone!

An older woman i know lived in a little cottage on her niece and nephews property and she laid for a while after having a fall. (I know the whole family actually.) They moved her into the main house after that. I really think the Life Alert type systems are a good investment. I don't know how much they cost though.

MoochNNoodles said:

That is scary Donutte! I'm glad she was ok. Having a system where she texts you is a good idea! It's actually a good idea for a lot of situations. My mother does not let my step dad work under his car alone. If they go for a flight they let me know before and after. I prefer to be there to "spot" DH when he is bringing things down from our attic. Accidents can happen to anyone!

An older woman i know lived in a little cottage on her niece and nephews property and she laid for a while after having a fall. (I know the whole family actually.) They moved her into the main house after that. I really think the Life Alert type systems are a good investment. I don't know how much they cost though.

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I still remember my neighbor calling my cell phone. I'd missed the call by the time I saw it, but called right back; no answer. I had a really bad feeling and about five minutes later she called me back. She was over at my place by that point. Funny, my mom was calmer than my neighbor was at that point. Mom was in the hospital for three days, then rehab at a nursing home for another three weeks. Mainly, because I just couldn't stay home every day, and she really needed someone there 24/7 the first couple of weeks.

My mom and my MIL both had LifeAlert. It's well worth the cost. We would get called right away as soon as they pressed their buttons (although my MIL had the type that automatically knew when she fell). We'd immediately go right up to the house and unlock doors. We couldn't get them back on their feet as we both have bad back issues and they were heavy women. And when they fell, they were pretty much dead weight, trying to get them back up....I'm not trying to be rude, it is what it is. They couldn't help us get them up....period. And we couldn't do it.

They both had women coming into the house to cook, to clean, to do laundry, etc. for them. But those women were not there 24/7. Mom had somebody coming in for 4 hours in the morning and then another 4 hours during late afternoon, early evening. So there was still a lot of time she was alone. My MIL had somebody come in only 3 days a week for about 4 hours a day. The rest of the time, she was alone, except for us being there. And we both work, so we couldn't be there 24/7.

Anyway, LifeAlert would call us, we would go to the house and get the doors unlocked for the EMTs to come in to get them off the floor. Sometimes, they needed to go to the ER for follow-up care; sometimes, it was only their pride and dignity that were injured.

But I would highly recommend LifeAlert. It's worth the money.

Winchester said:

My mom and my MIL both had LifeAlert. It's well worth the cost. We would get called right away as soon as they pressed their buttons (although my MIL had the type that automatically knew when she fell). We'd immediately go right up to the house and unlock doors. We couldn't get them back on their feet as we both have bad back issues and they were heavy women. And when they fell, they were pretty much dead weight, trying to get them back up....I'm not trying to be rude, it is what it is. They couldn't help us get them up....period. And we couldn't do it.

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That's like you are talking about my mom there. She has to be picked up carefully also because she has horrible arthritis and you can't just pull up on her arms. And yes, she's heavy too! I remember having to call 911 when she fell on the ice a couple years back. She insisted on bringing groceries in rather than letting me do it. Anyway, they had this "lift and assist" thing where they would come out, help you up, make sure you didn't need to go to the hospital, and then be on their way.

Anyway, off on a tangent there. I've considered Life Alert. My mom HATES wearing things around her neck though, so my fear is she just wouldn't wear it (because she is that stubborn).

The EMTs had to help my Gram get up a few times.  Other times my Grandpa and my cousin (who lived nearby) were able to help her up. She got unsteady after having a stroke and their house was hard to maneuver with a walker initially.  They eventually figured out different furniture arrangements to help them both get around easier.  My Grandfather said the only problem he had with the LifeAlert is that he accidentally set it off a few times when he was carrying a basket of laundry up from the basement.  (Something he would get fussed at for doing in the first place!)  Both my Grandfathers have had those recliners that assist you with standing up. Those have been huge helps.  My Grandfather has neuropothy in his feet and ankles; so the process of standing can be difficult. He can't always tell where his feet are.  He has an electric scooter now at his assisted living home.  He's a trip with it.  Zooming all over; bumping tables in the dining room.  But boy hes enjoying the freedom!    He also has some neuropothy in his fingers.  So between that and the fact that he always had large hands to begin with; he's not got the best fine motor skills for driving his chair.  It was so funny (in a good way) when he took us on a tour of the place last summer.  I can just imagine him telling them the chair doesn't go fast enough.   I just love him to pieces. 

My elderly neighbor stopped by with her daughter this afternoon.  I guess the police officers eventually located where she was because she knew about it.  So now I have met her daughter and I have extra contact information and they have ours.  She isn't staying in her home right now because the water and heat are not working.  Bless her heart; her vision is really deteriorating.  She couldn't tell what paper she had in her hand when I gave her one with our phone numbers on it.     She's moving pretty slow; even with leaning on her daughter for support.  I didn't say it; but I do wonder if she will be coming home again.    She is tough and stubborn so maybe.  I could tell by the smile on her daughter's face; she's having to be patient with her mother.   But now we know she is ok and with her family.  We can keep an eye on her home too.  I doubt there is anything of value in there; but at least we are aware of the situation. And I know what that home means to HER. 

Bless her heart, Mooch, she sounds like a sweetie. An exasperating sweetie, but a sweetie nonetheless. And I know the smile her daughter had!   We wear that one a lot when we're dealing with Rick's mom. 

My mom had a scooter, but nobody trusted her with it. And rightfully so....she hit everything. And she used to run into Muffin when she was even using her walker. And I know that Rick's mom ran into Jackie with her walker, too. There's something about walkers that people think they can just barrel through everything and everybody when they're using them. We had taken Rick's mom to the grands' Christmas play in 2014. On the way out, she was just going through the crowd with that thing! I finally grabbed hold of the walker and told her to "Slow down and watch where you're going!" She had her head down and she was just trying to move along.....people were jumping to get out of her way. She hit some guy in the butt and that's when I took hold of the walker.

It's only been during the past month that Jackie has finally realized that we won't step on her and she doesn't have to jump up every time somebody gets close to her.   Poor baby.

Those recliners are wonderful things! Mom had one and when she went into the nursing home, we moved it there, too. And when she passed away, we just donated to the nursing home for somebody else to use. Rick's mother has one and she says that sometimes it's a real life-saver when she needs to get up from sitting.

Donutte, I can't say enough good things about LifeAlert. Seriously. Yeah, it was a pain in the butt when they would call us at 2:00 in the morning and we had to go up to the houses to wait with our moms for the EMTs to get there, but honestly, better that than having them sitting/lying on the floor for hours and nobody knowing about it. I don't know if you were here a few months ago, when we were having some issues with Rick's mother. She had gone out to the garage (and didn't have her LifeAlert on her). She fell in the garage and couldn't get back up. She was there for quite a while before the UPS guy delivered packages to the next door neighbor and heard her yelling for help. God knows how long she would have been in that garage....it wasn't overly cold at that time, but it was still bad for a 90+ year old woman. She was all bloody because her skin is so fragile and it tore. It was a bad situation. Had she had her LifeAlert button, she would have never been there that long at all. It's all very well and good to be stubborn in some cases, but with an older person? Not good. She should have one. 

Winchester said:

 
Bless her heart, Mooch, she sounds like a sweetie. An exasperating sweetie, but a sweetie nonetheless. And I know the smile her daughter had! 

 We wear that one a lot when we're dealing with Rick's mom. 

My mom had a scooter, but nobody trusted her with it. And rightfully so....she hit everything. And she used to run into Muffin when she was even using her walker. And I know that Rick's mom ran into Jackie with her walker, too. There's something about walkers that people think they can just barrel through everything and everybody when they're using them. 

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Yes that describes her.   She gets a kick out of my kids and I like that they make her smile.  She told DH and I to hug her at least 3 times the other day.  We had a few "hiccups" when we first moved here.  She didn't understand where our property lines met and she was upset when we had some trees taken down. They were dying quickly so they had to go!  But I understood why she was upset.  Someone from her church and DH were able to help her understand.  I hate to think what would happen if one of those had come down on her little run down house.  One did come down on ours; but it laid down under the weight of snow before snapping; so it thankfully didn't damage anything!!  She also drove through our yard to pull out several times so she could avoid the big puddles in her (dirt) driveway.  

I could see my Grandpa running into people with his walker like that.     A few years ago; not long before he gave up driving, he told me he ran into someone he knew when they were both kids  going into the grocery store.  He only had a cane at this point; one of those 4 prong kind but he was walking funny.  He said the man looked at him and said 'What the *expletive* happened to you!?" and Grandpa said he replied 'I got old. What the "expletive" happened to you!?"  They both thought they were pretty funny.    That was about the time he told me he hoped his high school girlfriend would be at their reunion in a few weeks.  Apparently this lady thought he had the best teeth when they were teenagers.  He was hoping she'd be there and compliment his teeth again so he could take them out and show her.    I see him doing that too. 

Many years ago, when my mum was still alive, she also wore one of those things round her neck. I'd gone to England to look after her so my sister could have her holiday. One day I was passing her bedroom and suddenly 'fairy music 'came out of her room. I stopped, walked in and said hello? A voice asked me if l was my mum. I said no her daughter. They wanted to know how she was and if all was ok. How's that for service.

Oh, the elderly!
My Dad passed away at 79 yrs old from Liver cancer. He was always very active and spry as a baby lamb up until 4 days before he died. He even jumped up and clicked his heels together and said, "I'm goin' to Heaven!'. 
Mom passed away at 89 (11 years after Dad) from pulmonary fibrosis. She went down hill the last year she was alive and was in Hospice for 8 months. She was so jug-headed and, I swear, she did (or didn't do) stuff out of spite! She, too, was very active all her life and was still mowing the lawn the summer before she died and we (my 3 sisters and brother) 'forbid' her to mow the grass when no one was there with her. DUH! My sister and I were there one day doing yard work and it got dark, so we told her we'd be back the next day to finish it. We weren't even all the way down the driveway when we saw 'lights' on the side of the house. Yes! She hopped on the riding mower and turned the headlights on! We drove back up and asked her what she thought she was doing and she said, "You know once I start something, I have to finish it. The yard looks a mess!". You guess it - my sister and I stayed and finsihed cutting the darn grass with the headlights on!

I can still remember stopping by her house one day to visit and I saw a ladder propped against the house. I asked about it and she said, "The wind blew the satalite dish and I couldn't watch TV, so I went up and gave it a shove". Man! Did I give her a piece of my mind! She said, "Well, I didn't get ON the roof, I just poked at it with the broom handle"!   After that, between the five of us kids and 12 grandkids, we made arrangements for someone to be there 'at all times'. My daughter was the youngest and 17 (still in high school) and she basically moved in with her. They were like siamese-twins anyway and I think she secretly loved having there all the time.

 

But, for those of you who have elderly parents/neighbors, it's important to 'safety-proof' their homes. I worked as a Geriatric Nurse and did a lot of home-care and inspections.

The basics are: 

1. Make sure there are clear fire-escape routes. Work out an emergency escape plan in case of fire, earthquake, or any other emergency.
2. Smoke alarms on every floor and outside every bedroom are absolutely necessary. Check the batteries in the alarms regularly. (generally, at daylight savings time changes)
3. Install a carbon monoxide detector that sounds an alarm.
4. Place a fire extinguisher in the kitchen (and be sure they know how to use it!).
5. Consider using monitors and intercoms.
6. Keep home well lit--especially areas like stairways, hallways, bedrooms, porches, and outside walkways. Add extra light switches or remote switches (such as those that go on or off with the clap of hands).
7. Place protective screens on fireplaces.
8. Exposed hot-water pipes need to be covered.
9. Adjust the temperature on the hot-water heater to 120 degrees to avpid burns.

 Remove Hazards Around The Home:

1. Remove raised doorway thresholds.
2. Remove throw rugs and clutter.
3. Repair loose carpet or raised areas of flooring.
4. Move furniture and electrical cords out of walking pathways.
5. Use nonskid floor wax.
6. Wipe up spills immediately.
7. If they use a walker or cane, put rubber tips on it.
8. If they use crutches, clean the bottoms of them regularly with an abrasive pad, such as steel wool to keep them from slipping.
9. Use nightlights in hallways and bathrooms.
10. Add sturdy handrails to both sides of stairways.
11. Install grip bars in the bathroom.
12. Install a non-slip mat in the bathtub/shower and one outside too so they can step out on a non-sleppery floor.
13. Get multiple phone extensions - one for each main room (and check to be sure they are charged regularly)
14. If you live in an area that gets snow or ice in winter, have a relative or friend shovel and sprinkle salt on steps or sidewalks as they become slippery.

Making Daily Activities Simpler:

1. Store household items on lower shelves so that they can easily reach them.
2. Get a reaching device that you can buy at a medical supply store so they do not need to climb for an item.
3. If they have trouble seeing, purchase phones with larger numbers from a medical supply store.
4. If they have to (or are determined to) climb for something, get a step stool with handrails and rubber feet.
5. Encourage them not try to carry too many things at the same time. If threy use a walker, make sure there is a basket on it to carry things in. 
6. Have them wear low-heeled/flat, comfortable shoes with non-skid soles that fit well and give their feet good support. Check the heels and soles of their shoes for wear or damage (the front sole often comes loose and is a major tripping hazzard). Repair or replace them as needed.
7. Do not wear socks without shoes on smooth floors. Get some non-skid socks if necessary. (or you can apply some Puffy Fabric Paint to regular socks to make the non-skid!

8. Install lever type door handles.

For those who don't like something hanging around their neck, those First Alert devices come in a wrist band option - like wearing a watch.

 

Another thing we did was got a door key lock-box installed on the outside of the house and gave the code to the local fire and police department. A list of emergency contact numbers and a copy of their living wills were boldly displayed on the inside of the front door so when emergency personnel went out the door, they could easily see it! 

Your local Fire Department will come in and do a safety evaluation of their home. Contact Habitat for Humanity at habitat.org if you need assistance in home improvements and safety issues.

Here are some other agencies that might help with home improvements and installation of safety equipment at little or no charge for the elderly.

https://www.usa.gov/repairing-home

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jim-t-miller/home-improvement-assistan_b_7306038.html

https://www.payingforseniorcare.com/home-modifications/how-to-pay-for-home-mods.html

I hope this helps!

Donutte said:

Anyway, off on a tangent there. I've considered Life Alert. My mom HATES wearing things around her neck though, so my fear is she just wouldn't wear it (because she is that stubborn).

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 I would love to get one for my mom but I know she'd refuse.  She'd say it was for 'old people'  (she'll be 86 next month).