Assisted Living Safety Rules

Assisted living facilities are the step below full care nursing homes and are for residents who still have the mental and physical ability to care for themselves to an extent. Safety risks exist in assisted living facilities that need to be addressed and understood to prevent safety violations and potentially dangerous accidents or occurrences.

Smoke and Fire

• Residents in assisted living facilities are own their own and thus responsible for their own living conditions for the majority of the time. Nursing and medical staff check in on residents and perform procedures on occasion, but for the most part, assisted living residents care for themselves.

  This means that if a resident chooses to burn candles, cook on the stove or smoke cigarettes his is allowed to do so, provided the facility allows such behavior. Because of the potential fire risks, the facility's staff need to outline and discuss safety rules and protocols in detail with all residents and their primary caregivers.

  Families should inform medical staff of residents who are known smokers and of residents who are forgetful yet continue to cook on a stove or in an oven. Staff Should routinely discuss residents who are still performing tasks such as cooking and using electrical appliances and determine when it is no longer safe for those residents to continue being independent with tasks that could potentially pose a fire risk.

Bathing and Personal Care

• Residents in an assisted living facility care for themselves on a regular basis and some continue to shower and bathe on their own. Staff should pay attention and record all accidents and injuries that a resident receives by remaining independent. Assisted living residents are older adults who need to be careful when bathing and showering, as they may slip and fall. Staff should move patients who can no longer perform such hygienic routines without assistance or assist with such functions to keep the residents safe.

Medication

• The staff at an assisted living facility is there to ensure that patients receive their medication and attend to doctor appointments, treatments and other medical appointments. Medication that is taken routinely, generally daily, is a routine occurrence in assisted living facilities. Staff should keep patient safety in mind when dispensing medication and when storing medication. Independent residents may be allowed to take their own medications but staff should pay attention to residents who are declining in overall health to make sure that they are not forgetting to take their medication. Medication can be abused when not taken properly.