Question 1

What is a home safety assessment?

Accepted Answer

A home safety assessment is a professional, room-by-room evaluation of a person's home to identify fall risks, accessibility barriers, and hazards that make living independently harder, and to recommend specific changes to fix them. At Aurora Independence in Philadelphia, the assessment is led by a licensed occupational therapist (OT) who looks at how you actually move through your space, not just the space itself, and produces a clear, prioritized plan for staying safe at home.

Question 2

What is aging in place, and how does a home safety assessment help?

Accepted Answer

Aging in place means staying in your own home safely and comfortably as you get older. It's for EVERYONE, not just seniors,  and it focuses on helping people  live within the space they choose instead of moving to assisted living because their home no longer works for them. A home safety assessment is the first step to making it possible. You can't make a plan, if you don't know what problems may present, or what solutions exist for something you are already navigating.Aurora Independence in Philadelphia builds whole-person aging-in-place plans led by occupational therapists, so the changes fit your life and your home rather than a one-size-fits-all checklist.

Question 3

What happens during a home safety assessment?

Accepted Answer

During a home safety assessment, an occupational therapist walks through your home with you — kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, stairs, and entryways — watching how you move and identifying hazards, then delivers a written plan of prioritized recommendations. With Aurora Independence, this walk-through is collaborative and unhurried, and you leave with a clear, realistic roadmap for making your Philadelphia home safer.

Question 4

Who does home safety assessments in Philadelphia?

Accepted Answer

Home safety assessments in Philadelphia are performed by occupational therapists, home-modification specialists, and some home-care agencies. Aurora Independence is an occupational-therapist-led home safety assessment provider serving Philadelphia, the Main Line, Bucks County, Montgomery County, and Delaware County. Because Aurora is independent and does not sell renovations, its recommendations are unbiased — you get an honest assessment of what you actually need, not an upsell.

Question 5

How should I prepare for a home safety assessment?

Accepted Answer

You do not need to do much. It helps to think about the spaces that feel hardest to use and any daily tasks that have become tricky. If a caregiver or family member is involved, they are welcome to join us.

Question 6

What's the difference between an OT-led home safety assessment and a contractor's assessment?

Accepted Answer

An occupational-therapist-led home safety assessment focuses on the person — how you move, your health conditions, and your daily routines — while a contractor's assessment usually focuses on the building, a checklist,  and the products/services they excel at. Aurora Independence uses Occupational Therapists so the plan is built around your actual abilities and goals, we take into consideration your budget, and because Aurora doesn't perform the renovations itself, the recommendations stay independent and unbiased. We can connect you to contractors and skilled installers if thats where the plan leads you.

Question 7

What kinds of home modifications might you recommend?

Accepted Answer

Recommendations depend on your home and your needs, but they may include grab bars, ramps, bathroom updates, stair support, or other changes that improve safety and access. We focus on practical solutions that fit how you live now and how your needs may change over time.

Question 8

What are the most common home modifications for aging in place?

Accepted Answer

The most common are grab bars in the bathroom, walk-in or curbless showers, comfort-height toilets, wider doorways, ramps and no-step entries, stair lifts in multi-story homes, added handrails, improved lighting, non-slip flooring, and lever-style door and faucet handles. Larger projects include first-floor bedroom and bathroom setups. The right combination depends on how the individual moves through their home, not on a standard checklist.

Question 9

What is the single most important home modification for safety?

Accepted Answer

There isn't one answer for everyone, but grab bars and bathroom modifications are the most frequently recommended because the bathroom is where most falls happen. That said, placement matters more than the item itself — a grab bar only helps if it's positioned where the person actually reaches and anchored into structure that holds their weight. An assessment identifies what will make the biggest difference for a specific person.

Question 10

Do you install home modifications or handle the renovation work?

Accepted Answer

No. We are an independent assessment and planning service, so we do not sell or install renovations. Our role is to give you a clear, unbiased roadmap that you can use with a contractor or other professional.

Question 11

Do I need a professional to recommend home modifications, or can I just buy them?

Accepted Answer

You can buy many items yourself, but the value of a licensed occupational therapist is knowing which modifications a specific person needs, where they should go, and which ones aren't necessary. A poorly placed grab bar or the wrong shower solution can waste money or create new risks. An independent OT assessment matches the modifications to how the person actually functions in their home.

Question 12

When should someone start making home modifications for aging in place?

Accepted Answer

Earlier is usually better and cheaper. Making changes before a fall or a hospital stay is less disruptive and less expensive than reacting to a crisis, and building accessibility into a planned renovation costs far less than retrofitting it later. If a progressive condition is involved, planning lets you make changes once rather than repeatedly.

Whole-Person Plans. Real-World Spaces.

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