Must-Haves for Handicapped Accessible Apartments

As part of my on-going series on senior care issues, we explore handicapped accessible assisted living apartments. This guide will help you choose appropriate housing accommodations for handicapped persons. Some assisted living facilities offer handicapped accessible apartments. These handicapped accessible apartments have some basic features in common that any person, whether a senior citizen or not would need to have in a user-friendly apartment.

-Extra wide doorways wheelchairs and walkers. The newer senior walkers, with padded seats and baskets for carrying things, while useful, also do not fit so easily in the tight spaces of an apartment. Before moving a handicapped person or senior citizen into any apartment, make sure that they can maneuver easily in their living space.

-Tub less walk-in showers. Similar to a locker room shower, the handicapped accessible shower has no tub and a drain in the tiled floor. There is nothing for the senior to have to climb or lift her legs over. Recuperative or handicapped senior citizens are often reluctant to bathe or shower because they are intimidated by the high, slippery tub walls. The shower is level with the bathroom floor with a slight incline and ridge to keep the water in the shower area and draining. The shower is tiled in rough non-slip tile. There should be several bars in the shower for support and a hand-held shower head. The walker can actually be wheeled right into the shower if necessary.

-Toilet with raised stool and side support bars for ease of use. A taller stool helps the senior to sit safely without fear of falling or tipping backwards. The raised seat is much easier for the senior citizen to lower herself onto and the bar prevents falls.

-Chair level peep holes in the door. As a former apartment dweller I found my peephole extremely useful for screening callers and making me feel safer. Handicapped senior assisted living apartments have chair level peep holes in the door.

-Levered pressure door handles. Instead of having to release the walker to twist a door knob or squeeze a walker or wheelchair close enough to grasp, lever door handles open with simple pressure. The senior citizen can lean on the lever, use a cane, walker or any other device to open the door with a lever. Door handles require a more complex action.

-Closest to the elevator. No handicapped or assisted living facility can be without at least one elevator. The handicapped accessible apartment will also be closest to the elevator on each floor.

-Garbage chute on each level. Imagine lugging a bag of trash to the maintenance room and lifting it over the side of a dumpster or waste bin. Senior assisted living communities should have easy open chutes on every floor to dispose of trash.

-Barrier-free apartments, common rooms and hallways. Senior assisted living facilities should be completely free of anything laying on the ground or blocking egress, including rugs, door stops, curtains and loose carpet. There should be seamless doorways and entryways from room to room so that the wheelchair or walker can move freely.

-Cupboards and appliances within reach. A small galley kitchen is ideal for a person navigating from a walker or wheelchair. Cupboards and appliances are all within reach with limited movement.

-Handicapped accessible bus route. Transportation is a must for everyone, including handicapped persons. The senior living facility should be on a bus route to local markets, banks, doctors office, hospital and pharmacies.

This is a list of must-haves for senior care centers and assisted living communities. All the best to you and your senior loved one.