Safety During Your Stay

Your safety and comfort during your time here, is our top concern.

Preventing Falls

Preventing falls is important to maintain health and independence. Ways to help prevent falls include:

•     Slow down and take your time.
•     Do one task at a time.
•     Look where you are going and don’t get distracted.
•     Sit for a moment before getting out of bed.
•     Get out of chairs slowly.
•     Get your balance before you walk.
•     Wear good, supportive shoes with slip resistant soles.
•     Wear non-skid socks at night (we provide these).

Your physiotherapist checks to see how well you can move, stand and walk. If we feel you would be safer with one of us helping you move, please wait for us. Do not try to move on your own. You may need to use a cane, a walker, or a wheelchair to move around safely.

Getting In and Out of Your Wheelchair

Our homes are equipped with a variety of mechanical lifts for helping you get from bed to wheelchair or from wheelchair to toilet safely. You will hear us refer to these moves as a ‘transfer’. Your physiotherapist checks you to see how well you can move, stand, and walk. We may suggest that it would be safest for you to have a lift as part of your transfers. Some of our lifts can look complicated but be assured that we are trained in helping you transfer safely. It can be scary the first couple of times you use a lift but we are always there with you.

Clothing

Clothing can sometimes be a risk to your safety. Clothes that are too tight or too hard to put on or take off can result in you being uncomfortable or even hurt. It is also possible that our staff can get injured as we help you into and out of your clothes. If we feel some of your clothes are a risk to your safety, we will talk with you about other options. We may suggest that you buy a special kind of clothes that are adapted to make it easier for you to dress and undress. We call these types of clothes ‘Easy Clothing’ or ‘Adaptive Clothing’. If you need to use a mechanical lift to help you get in and out of the bed or a chair, then ‘Easy Clothing’ can make these lifts more comfortable for both you and us.