According to the CDC, more than 36 million senior citizens suffer a fall annually, and this leads to approximately 32,000 deaths. Your bones will generally become frailer as you age, and your tendency of balancing yourself becomes vulnerable. In fact, one of the most common problems that senior citizens face, according to the CDC, is broken hips due to falling down (close to 300,000 senior citizens are hospitalized for this annually). Let’s explore what’s needed for the same, and the average stair lift cost.
What is a stairlift?
The stairlift is a term that is used to define a mechanized chair that is joined to the wall. The motivation behind this chair is to assist senior or disabled people to travel all over a stairway. The track that the chair uses is generally built into the wall, and the movement of the chair is controlled with the help of a button, lever, or remote. The chairs can come in different sizes and can therefore be used to accommodate people with different body types. A usual fitting takes around an hour or two excluding the time needed to deliver directions and coordination for stairlift usage. A stairlift is attached to the stair steps and is comparatively compacted.
How can stairlifts improve the lives of senior citizens?
There are many different advantages that stairlifts offer to senior citizens, and thereby help improve their lives. Some of these advantages are:
- Enhanced safety: When you have mobility issues or decreased body strength, climbing up and down the stairs can be really difficult. Losing one’s balance on the stairs can be really dangerous as it can lead to serious injuries, which is why it is important to get stairlift installation done. By letting senior citizens comfortably sit on a chair and move up and down, it reduces the risk of them falling and injuring themselves. Features like seat belts, emergency brakes, swivel seats, and obstruction sensors can enhance safety more.
- Affordable devices: Another aspect to note about stairlifts is that the average stair lift cost is around $2,000 – 5,000 (depending on the make and model). This is far cheaper than the cost of medical bills that one would have to incur if there are serious injuries that are caused due to falls.
- Easy to use: Finally, one of the things that people are often concerned about is that senior citizens find it hard to use technology. More often than not, a stairlift has single or double button operation for moving the device up or down the stairs. This makes it very simple to understand and use and you won’t have to worry about the senior citizens being able to use the device safely.
These features make a stairlift a great device for your home, regardless of whether the senior citizens in your family have mobility issues. As it’s been said, forestalling issues is far superior to managing them later.
Can stairlifts be installed on curved staircases?
Yes, that is the beauty of stairlifts. These devices can be installed on curved staircases as well as straight ones, so you don’t have to worry about the natural architecture of your home getting in the way of getting a stairlift installed.
Conclusion-
So, it’s clear to see that senior citizens need help when it comes to navigating their homes, particularly when there are stairs in the home. You should seriously consider stairlift installation, if you have senior citizens in your family.