Cheap Fixes to Prevent Falls at Home
Use the free tool — Home Safety Walk
Why home safety checks matter
One in four adults over 65 falls each year. Most falls happen at home — on a rug, a step, in a dark hallway, or in a bathroom with nothing to hold onto. This guide helps you look at a home room by room and find the easy fixes first.
How Home Safety Walk works
You describe the home, room by room, in your own words. Mention the cane, the walker, the eyesight, or the last fall. You get a fall-risk fix list in order: this weekend, this month, and what to ask a professional or agency about.
- Describe the home. Room by room, mention mobility aids, eyesight, and any past fall.
- Get the fixes in order. This weekend (free or under $30), this month (grab bars, rails, lighting), and what to ask a professional or agency about.
- Print it and go. A list for the hardware store, and questions for the doctor, the Area Agency on Aging, or the landlord.
What the fix list covers
The list is split by urgency and cost, based on CDC fall-prevention recommendations (CDC STEADI):
- Changes you can make this weekend, often free or under $30.
- Changes to plan this month, like grab bars, rails, or better lighting.
- Questions to bring to a doctor, the Area Agency on Aging, or a landlord.
What Medicare may or may not cover
The tool tells you what Medicare or a local agency may help with, but it cannot guarantee coverage. Medicare may cover an occupational-therapy home assessment, but only when a doctor orders it. Always confirm coverage with Medicare or the agency directly.
What this tool is — and isn't
Home Safety Walk is a general guide based on CDC fall-prevention recommendations. It has not seen the home and cannot assess it in person. It cannot evaluate a person's balance or medications. For balance problems, dizziness, or medication side effects, talk to their doctor or pharmacist. For a hands-on inspection, an occupational-therapy home assessment — which Medicare may cover when ordered by a doctor — is the real inspection. This is not medical advice.
What to do next
Use the free tool to describe the home, room by room, or describe the fall that already happened, in your own words. It reads your own description and gives you a prioritized list — what to change this weekend, what to buy, roughly what it costs, and what Medicare or a local agency may help with. Print it and take it to the hardware store, the doctor, or the Area Agency on Aging.
Home Safety Walk is an informational tool based on public fall-prevention guidance (CDC STEADI). It cannot see the home, assess a person's balance or medications, or replace an occupational-therapy home assessment, which Medicare may cover when ordered by a doctor. Price ranges are typical US retail figures. It is not affiliated with any agency, manufacturer or facility.