Updated July 06, 2014.

The senior population uses the health care system more intensively than any other age category. Aging is a risk factor for many diseases such as:

• diabetes
• cardiovascular disease
• mobility limitations
• alzheimer's and dementia 

These are just a few categories, but they are some of the most common.

Here are some ideas to follow to make hospitals and senior living residences safer for seniors. It may seem like a daunting list, but I wanted this to serve as a one-stop resource for readers ready to dive into improving the safety of their patients, and in articular, addressing the unique needs of seniors.

Senior Care Unit Design and Planning

• Design Tips for Planning Your Senior Care Unit - Part 1 (Creating a soothing environment.)
• Design Tips for Planning Your Senior Care Unit - Part 2 (The pros and cons of carpet tile vs. hard vinyl flooring for quiet and cleanliness.) 
• Design Tips for Planning Your Senior Care Unit - Part 3 (Why private hospital rooms for seniors helps them heal faster.)
• Design Tips for Planning Your Senior Care Unit - Part 4 (How to maximize bedside comfort and care. Medical supplies that keep the nurse with the patient, rather than hunting for supplies elsewhere on the medical/surgical floor.)
• Design Tips for Planning Your Senior Care Unit - Part 5 (Designing for safety with the proper handrails, lighting, and flooring.)
• Design Tips for Planning Your Senior Care Unit - Part 6 (Medical supplies and equipment for keeping seniors safer in the bathroom.)
• Design Tips for Planning Your Senior Care Unit - Part 7 (How to design hospital spaces that enable nursing staff better observation of their patients for improved response times.)

• Design Tips for Planning Your Senior Care Unit - Part 8 (These furniture products are designed with the comfort and safety of seniors in mind.)
• Design Tips for Planning Your Senior Care Unit - Part 9 (Hospitals are competitive business these days. Make sure you dress your hospital to impress with these well-designed products.)

Medical Supplies that Make Senior Living and Hospitals Safer

• Medical Supply Planning for the Senior Care Unit
• Senior Care for Home, Hospital, and Assisted Living
• 10 Ideas for Higher Satisfaction Scores When Planning Your Senior Care Unit
• Medical Supplies for the Long-Term Care Resident (Use this as your checklist to plan for the care of seniors with co-morbidities.)
• Medical Supplies to Reduce 30-Day Readmissions (When a patient is discharged from the hospital, and then re-admitted for the same condition within 30 days, it's called a "30-Day Readmission." The majority of the cost of care for a 30-Day Readmission is carried by the hospital's budget, not the insurers, because it is seen as a failure of good care quality by the hospital.)
• 5 Ways Hospitals Can Make Their Patient Rooms Safer (An interesting and affordable perspective on ideas large and small that historically have gone overlooked.)
• 5 Medical Supplies Useful for Senior Care (Helping seniors avoid hospital-acquired infection in the intensive care unit.)
• Medical Supply Strategies for Pressure Ulcer Prevention (Pressure ulcers, often known as "bed sores", are a form of hospital-acquired infection. They tend to hit the elderly hard because they are may be confined to their hospital bed because of mobility limitations. Here are some medical supplies that can help prevent a pressure ulcer, as well as treat them if they do occur.)
• 3 Types of Medical Supplies for Assisted Living Residences
• Medical Supplies for Patients with Alzheimer's or Dementia?
• Medical Supplies for Arthritis and Joint Conditions?

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