How to upgrade a bathroom for the recently handicapped?
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Call the patient's physician and request that home health come out and do a safety eval. An occupational therapist will then make specific recommendations for the person about safety bar placement around the tub, toilet , etc . Insurance will sometimes cover the costs of bars under durable medical equipment depending on the policy . You will probably have to do the install though . Good luck .
You don't mention what kind of handicap is involved which might help in giving ideas. There are raised toilet seats that clamp to an original toilet instead of replacing the whole toilet. There are multiple vacuum seal shower bars available and they are strong and easily available. If you want handles around the toilet, a quick and inexpensive fix I thought of off the top of my head is to go to a thrift store and get a walker and install it behind the toilet so the hand grips are on each side of the toilet. You might have to undo and redo the waterline if the line is to the wall but that's quick and easy to do. The only issue I can see is if there is enough clearance between the wall and the toilet and if the arms of the walker extend out far enough along side the toilet. Just top of my head suggestions.
My mother is handicapped and lives with us, since you don't say what the issue is, here are the things we did to help her:
Made sure the doorways could accommodate her wheelchair and walker;
Changed door knobs to door handles (easier for arthritic hands);
Put a portable commode seat over the raised ADA height toilet (there are hand rails on the commode and it helps if she gets very ill (like the flu) and can't make it to the bathroom);
We had a walk-in shower that I took the sliding doors off, put up a shower curtain, installed lots of handrails and purchased a shower chair. (I help her bathe);
Our refrigerator has a freezer on the bottom and all of the foods/beverages she likes are on the first shelf of the fridge so she can reach both.
We installed a ramp in our garage to get out of the house. which we roll her in the chair when she has to go to the doctor;
She has a lifting recliner to help her stand up and keep her comfortable.
She also had a Sleep Number bed with a thick foam pad to cushion for her sore bones and she can adjust the firmness;
We also installed hand/side rail on her bed to help her get up in the morning.
I try to make sure anything she needs is at a decent height to reach, otherwise she uses a "grabber"
When I had my parents we bought a higher toilet added hand rails beside it , you can also get a port-a-potty and place over the toilet that way they have handrails on either side try to rearrange furniture to make it easier to get around lighting at night is an issue to sometimes older people get confused at night and nightlights I also removed our coffee table. We also got a chair that raised to help her stand. Added childrens side rails to the bed on one side.