Most winter falls happen on the first step outside the door

Ask an emergency department where seniors fall in winter and the answer is boring: on their own front step, on their own path, usually in the first minute outside. A walk that was clear at noon is glass by six.

What we check

• The step, the path and the handrail, at every visit, and we tell you what we found.
• Footwear. Slippers are not outdoor shoes, and dress shoes with leather soles are worse.
• Traction cleats, which we ask families to buy and which the caregiver puts on and takes off, because doing it yourself is how you fall.
• Whether the outside light works.

Daylight

We schedule errands and appointments in daylight where we can. Sun on the path makes a real difference by the afternoon.

The awkward question

Families ask whether our caregivers shovel. [Confirm and state plainly: yes or no.] Either way, if the walk is not cleared we will tell you the same day, because that is a fall waiting to happen and it needs a plan.