Clear guides for the home, the care, and the next family decision.
Each guide focuses on a concern your family can name today, with practical steps, signs that call for local help, and reliable places to learn more.
Written and reviewed by Nicola Davidson, OTR/L
Decision starting points
When the question is bigger than one room
Is it time for assisted living?
Compare home changes, caregiver support, and signs that home may need a different level of care.
Start hereSigns your parent needs help
Notice changing routines and choose the first practical conversation or support step.
Start hereHome safety assessment
See how room details, daily routines, caregiver gaps, and practical priorities fit together.
Start hereFalls and room safety
Room-by-room guidance for falls, bathrooms, night paths, stairs, entries, and fixed supports.
Room-by-room checklist
Fall Prevention Home Checklist
Walk the routes used every day, notice where balance or effort changes, and separate what can be fixed now from what needs a clinician, installer, or larger decision.
Read guideBathroom safety
Bathroom Safety for Aging Parents
The right setup depends on the person, the surface, the direction of movement, the space available, and whether help is present—not on a generic bathroom shopping list.
Read guideAfter a fall
What to Do After an Older Parent Falls
A fall can be a medical event, a home warning, or both. Use a calm sequence: check for urgent danger, get appropriate help, record what happened, and reduce the chance of the same situation repeating.
Read guideNight path safety
Nighttime Bathroom Safety for Older Adults
Nighttime safety depends on the whole route: getting upright, finding light and footwear, using a mobility aid, reaching the bathroom, and returning to bed without rushing.
Read guideGrab bar planning
Grab Bar Placement for Older Adults
Placement should match where support is needed, which hand can use it, how the person moves, and what the wall can safely hold.
Read guideStairs and entry
Stair and Entryway Safety for Older Adults
Stair and entry safety is more than adding a rail. Review the approach, door, threshold, weather, lighting, pace, and the tasks that compete for the person’s hands.
Read guideHospital and coverage
Prepare for a return home and understand the questions that belong with Medicare, providers, and home health agencies.
Hospital discharge
Coming Home From the Hospital Checklist
Confirm what changed, what help is needed on day one, which equipment must already be in place, and who to call when the written plan and the real home do not match.
Read guideMedicare and home health
Medicare Home Health and Occupational Therapy
Coverage depends on the person’s eligibility, a qualifying plan of care, and care from a Medicare-certified home health agency. Private home planning and general household help are different services.
Read guideCaregiver decisions
Estimate needed help, compare care settings, protect caregiver capacity, and coordinate support across distance.
Care needs
How Much Help Does an Aging Parent Need?
A useful care estimate is more specific than a few hours a week. It names which daily activities need setup, reminders, supervision, hands-on help, or skilled care—and who can reliably provide it.
Read guideCare setting decision
Home Care vs. Assisted Living
The right setting depends on whether needed help can be delivered reliably, whether the home supports daily life, and whether the older adult’s preferences and safety needs can both be respected.
Read guideCaregiver support
Caregiver Burnout Warning Signs and Next Steps
Exhaustion, poor sleep, anger, isolation, hopelessness, missed health care, and unsafe lifting are signs to change the plan—not evidence that a caregiver is failing.
Read guideLong-distance caregiving
Long-Distance Caregiving and Home Safety
A long-distance caregiver can coordinate information, services, supplies, paperwork, and respite—but needs a reliable local view of how the person and the home are actually doing.
Read guideDementia home safety
Dementia Home Safety Checklist
Dementia can affect judgment, memory, depth perception, sequencing, and response to unfamiliar items. A safer home reduces avoidable demands while preserving familiar routines and dignity.
Read guideWisconsin support
Build a Wisconsin home plan around winter access, local services, and unbiased ADRC options counseling.
Wisconsin aging in place
Aging in Place in Wisconsin
The home, climate, family map, available services, health needs, and older adult’s preferences all shape whether staying home can work safely and sustainably.
Read guideWisconsin local help
Wisconsin ADRC Aging Resources
Aging and Disability Resource Centers provide free, unbiased information about programs and services and can help families understand choices without requiring a particular income level to ask for help.
Read guideHow the pieces become one plan
The sample plan shows home priorities, daily independence, caregiver coverage, equipment and modification questions, and clearly assigned family tasks.