Parkinson’s Senior Care Guide

A new diagnosis naturally leads to questions about your senior loved one’s situation, including whether their condition will affect their quality of life or their ability to live independently. This is especially true for those diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease since neurological disorders can have a significant impact on a senior’s ability to live safely in their home.

Parkinson’s disease may lead to dementia, a loss of thinking and reasoning that can make certain activities difficult or impossible. If your loved one develops dementia, you may need to make home modifications or create a safer routine for them. Adapting to these changes can be difficult, but adaptation ultimately reduces stress on you and improves the quality of life for them.

We created this guide to help you prioritize home safety modifications for seniors with Parkinson’s disease. Additionally, we delve into what you should look for if home modifications prove insufficient to improve your situation and a senior living community becomes your only option.

Room-by-Room Home Modifications for Seniors With Parkinson's Disease

Before making home modifications, conduct a thorough assessment to determine how you can make the senior’s home less hazardous. The checklist below is designed to help you identify potential safety issues in each room. Print out a copy and keep it with you as you walk through the home.

Home Safety Considerations for Seniors With Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson’s disease affects balance and coordination, increasing the person’s risk of falling. Between 45% and 68% of people diagnosed with Parkinson’s sustain falls each year, which can lead to broken bones, head injuries, or worse. Cluttered living spaces become more dangerous as a result, as the person struggles to walk through them without tripping or knocking things over. The uncontrollable movement or “shaking” associated with Parkinson’s can also make it more difficult to cook or drive safely.

Thankfully, home modifications can mitigate these risks. Consider these modification categories when assessing your loved one’s home.

Lighting

In some people, Parkinson’s disease causes blurry vision, double vision, and other vision problems. Though you may not be able to cure these symptoms, lighting modifications could make it easier for your loved one to get around. Use table or floor lamps in rooms with dim overhead lighting. Consider adding LED lights to the insides of kitchen cabinets or the rims above countertops to make it easier for them to complete daily tasks.

For seniors who use walkers or wheelchairs, adding light-switch extenders in each room could also make it possible to reach the lights without standing up, which may reduce their risk of falling. If necessary, you can also add longer cords or chains to overhead lights that aren’t on a switch.

Flooring

Parkinsonian gait is a common symptom of Parkinson’s disease. People with this symptom may shuffle their feet when they walk or freeze before taking a step. Your loved one may also maintain a stooped position, making it even more difficult to navigate through each room. One way to reduce the risk of falls is to replace thick carpets with thinner versions or even hard flooring. Deep-pile carpet more easily trips those who shuffle their feet when they walk. Additionally, walkers and wheelchairs are more difficult to maneuver on thicker carpets.

Furniture

Depending on how the disorder progresses, you may want to replace some of your loved one’s furniture to make it easier for them to get up and down without falling. For example, you may want to add a lift chair recliner to the living room. This type of chair is commonly used for sleeping as the disease progresses due to the added comfort and positioning it can provide. It has an internal motor to lift it up and down, making it easier for an older person with Parkinson’s disease or another neurological disorder to get in and out of the chair.

Tripping Hazards

Tripping hazards can also cause falls. Take a look around your loved one’s living space to see if any of the following tripping hazards are present:

• Electrical cords stretched across walkways
• Loose carpeting
• Area rugs
• Broken or loose tiles
• Clutter in walkways
• Furniture sticking out into walkways
• Too much furniture in a room

What To Look For in a Senior Living Community for a Loved One With Parkinson’s

If you and your loved one decide that their needs would be better served in a senior living community, it’s important to choose one that offers specialized care for residents with Parkinson’s disease. Here’s what to look for:

• Specialists Available: If a community doesn’t have access to a neurologist for consultations, it should at least make it easy for residents to acquire expert neurology care when needed. It’s also helpful if the community offers convenient access to an imaging center or hospital in case a resident’s symptoms get worse.
• 24-Hour Supervision: Your loved one may not need someone in their living quarters at all times, but it’s important to have a trained staff member available 24 hours per day. Staff members may provide help with activities of daily living, administer physical or occupational therapy, arrange for off-site medical care, or perform other functions to keep your loved one safe.
• Experienced Caregivers: The best programs have experienced staff members available to supervise residents and manage their care. Some senior living communities provide training specific to Parkinson’s disease to help employees better assist residents with this condition as well as quickly recognize the signs of disease progression.
• Medication Management: Medication management is especially important for seniors with Parkinson’s disease, as delays have been shown to result in “an immediate increase in symptoms.” Late administration of medications can cause confusion, loss of balance, worsening tremors, and difficulty communicating. Senior living communities that prioritize on-time medication administration are safer for residents with Parkinson’s than those that have frequent medication delays.
• Personalized Care Plans: No two people with Parkinson’s disease have exactly the same symptoms. Symptoms vary in frequency and severity, making personalized care essential for slowing disease progression. Individualized care may also make it easier for staff members to notice when a resident’s symptoms are getting worse.

Senior Living Facilities That Offer Parkinson's Management and Care

Assisted Living communities have staff members available 24 hours per day to offer a wide range of services and amenities to promote health and independence, making them a good fit for many people with Parkinson’s disease. Some communities even offer specialized care programs tailored to those with Parkinson’s, giving residents the extra support they need to manage their symptoms and preserve as much neurological function as possible.

The table below provides examples of assisted living communities that offer programs specifically for seniors with Parkinson’s disease.

For assistance choosing a community that offers specialized care for residents with Parkinson’s disease, contact a family advisor at (888) 307-1103.

Resources for Caregivers of Seniors With Parkinson's Disease

If your loved one was just diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the symptoms and find out how to provide the best possible care. The table below includes resources to help you learn more about Parkinson’s and understand how to keep your loved one as healthy as possible as they live with the disorder.