You know how it usually goes. Nobody in the family decides whether Mom can keep living in her house. A fall decides it, on a Tuesday night, and then everybody else spends the next three weeks catching up in a hospital hallway.
I watched that pattern for years from the wrong side of the table. When I was buying houses from families in transition, the call almost never came from a family that had talked it through at the kitchen table. It came from a son standing in a hospital parking lot, or a daughter who'd just been told her dad couldn't go home to a two-story house with the only bathroom upstairs. People in that spot sell fast and they sell cheap, because the house has stopped being a home and started being a problem.
That's why I'm writing this one now, while nobody's in a hospital bed.
September is Falls Prevention Awareness Month. The Administration for Community Living kicked it off on September 3, and the CDC updated its older adult falls page on September 4. So this is a good month to do something most families never do: walk your parent's house with fresh eyes before anything happens, and let what you find tell you whether the house still works.
You're not deciding to move anybody. You're collecting information, so that if the day comes, you're making a decision instead of reacting to one. That's the whole point. A fall shouldn't be the thing that chooses where your mom or dad lives for the rest of their life.
What the CDC Numbers Actually Say
Here's what the CDC reports on its older adult falls page, which was reviewed by its subject matter experts on September 8, 2026.
More than one out of four people 65 and older falls each year, and less than half of them tell their doctor. Read that second part twice. If your parent fell in the garden last spring and got right back up, there's a good chance you never heard about it, and neither did their doctor.
Falling once doubles the chance of falling again. So the fall that "didn't hurt anything" is still the most important warning sign you'll get.
Each year there are about 4.5 million emergency department visits because older adults fall. About 3.1 million of those people are treated and released, and about 1.4 million are hospitalized.
The CDC also says about 37% of people who fall report an injury that needed medical treatment or restricted their activity for at least a day. Nearly 319,000 older people are hospitalized for hip fractures each year, and falls caused 83% of hip fracture deaths and 88% of the emergency visits and hospitalizations for hip fractures. Falls are also the most common cause of traumatic brain injury in older adults, and the CDC specifically warns that a head injury is more serious for someone taking certain medicines, like blood thinners.
There's one more line on that page that I think every adult child should hear. Many people who fall, even without an injury, become afraid of falling. That fear makes them do less. Doing less makes them weaker, and being weaker raises their chances of falling again. So when your dad says he "just doesn't feel like" going to church anymore, it may not be about church.
The Risk Factors You Can Actually Change
The CDC lists the conditions that make a fall more likely, and most of them can be changed:
- Lower body weakness
- Vitamin D deficiency
- Trouble with walking and balance
- Medicines like tranquilizers, sedatives, or antidepressants, and even some over-the-counter medicines
- Vision problems
- Foot pain or poor footwear
- Home hazards like broken or uneven steps, throw rugs, and clutter
The CDC also notes that most falls come from a combination of these, and the more risk factors a person has, the greater the chance of falling. That's good news for you, because it means you don't have to fix everything. Every factor you take off the list lowers the odds.
What This Means for Your Family
The house is either working or it isn't
Here's the part that connects to what I do. Aging in place isn't a yes or no question about whether your parent wants to stay. Almost everybody wants to stay. The real question is whether the house can be made to work for the body your parent has now, and at what cost.
Some houses can. A one-level ranch with a walk-in shower, decent lighting, and a couple of grab bars might serve your mom well for another ten years. Other houses can't, no matter how much you spend. If the only full bathroom is up a steep staircase with one handrail, or the laundry is in a basement, or the front door has five brick steps and no rail, you're looking at a house that's going to fight your parent every day.
You don't have to guess which one you've got. The walk-through below tells you.
What Medicare will pay for, and what it won't
This is where a lot of families get surprised, so let's be exact.
Walkers are covered. Medicare.gov says Part B covers walkers, including rollators, if your parent is eligible. Your parent's provider has to prescribe it for use in the home. After the Part B deductible, your parent pays 20% of the Medicare-approved amount.
Physical therapy is covered, and it isn't only for after an injury. Per Medicare.gov, Part B helps pay for medically necessary outpatient physical therapy. It can be used to improve or maintain current function, or to slow the rate of decline, not just to recover from surgery. A doctor, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, or physician assistant has to certify the need. There's no yearly limit on what Medicare pays for medically necessary outpatient therapy, and after the Part B deductible your parent pays 20%. Since lower body weakness and balance trouble are two of the CDC's top risk factors, this is the covered benefit that goes straight at the problem.
The yearly wellness visit is free, and it includes a medication review. Medicare.gov says your parent pays nothing for the yearly wellness visit if the provider accepts assignment, and the Part B deductible doesn't apply. The visit includes a review of current prescriptions. Since medicines are on the CDC's risk list, that's a free chance to ask whether anything your parent takes could be making them unsteady. Just know that if the provider adds tests or services that aren't part of the wellness visit, coinsurance and the deductible can apply.
Grab bars are not covered. This one surprises people. The CMS national coverage determination for durable medical equipment, NCD 280.1, lists grab bars as "Deny," calling them a self-help device that's not primarily medical in nature. The same list denies bathtub seats and bathtub lifts. So the cheapest, most useful change in the whole house is one you'll be paying for yourself. Plan for it.
The Walk-Through: What to Do, in Order
The steps below follow the CDC's own home checklist, called Check for Safety, and its guide for family caregivers. Do this in person if you can. A phone call where your mom says "everything's fine" isn't a walk-through.
1. Start at the front door and the stairs
Look for papers, shoes, or anything else sitting on the steps, inside and out. Check for broken or uneven steps, and loose or torn carpet on stairs. The CDC checklist says handrails should be on both sides of the stairs and run the full length of them. Check for a light and a switch at both the top and the bottom. If a stairway bulb is burned out, change it today, because your parent may have been living with it for weeks rather than climb a ladder.
2. Walk every floor path
Notice whether you have to step around furniture to cross a room. Pick up throw rugs, or secure them with double-sided tape or a non-slip backing. Coil or tape cords along the wall. If your parent is running an extension cord across a walkway because there's no outlet where they need it, that's a job for an electrician, and it's cheaper than a hospital stay.
3. Check the kitchen reach
Look at where your parent keeps what they use every day. The CDC recommends keeping those things on lower shelves, about waist high. If there's a step stool, it should have a bar to hold on to. And a chair should never stand in for a step stool.
4. Walk the path from the bed to the bathroom, in the dark
This is the one I'd do if you only do one. Stand by the bed, turn off the lights, and walk to the bathroom the way your parent does at 2 AM. Can a lamp be reached from the bed? Is there a nightlight? The CDC suggests nightlights along that path, and some turn on by themselves after dark.
5. Look hard at the bathroom
Check whether the tub or shower floor is slippery, and add a non-slip mat or self-stick strips. Then ask the honest question: does your parent need support getting in and out of the tub or up from the toilet? If so, the CDC checklist calls for grab bars next to and inside the tub, and next to the toilet. Remember from above, this is out of pocket.
6. Book the appointments that go with the house
The CDC's caregiver guidance goes past the house. Tell a healthcare provider right away if your parent has fallen, is worried about falling, or seems unsteady. Keep an updated list of every medication, including over-the-counter ones and supplements, and show it to a provider or pharmacist. Get eyes checked by an eye doctor at least once a year and feet checked by a provider once a year. Ask about vitamin D. And ask the provider about an exercise program, since the CDC notes that activities that improve balance and strengthen legs, like Tai Chi, can prevent falls.
7. Write down what can't be fixed
When you're done, you'll have two lists. One is things you can fix: rugs, bulbs, cords, rails, grab bars. The other is things you can't fix without a contractor, or at all: the only shower is upstairs, the entry has steps and no room for a ramp, the laundry is two floors down.
That second list is the real answer to the aging in place question. If it's short, you've probably just bought your parent years in their home. If it's long, you've learned something important while there's still time to plan instead of scramble.
If the House Doesn't Pass
I want to be careful here, because this is exactly the moment families get pushed. If your walk-through tells you the house is going to fight your parent, you don't need to call a real estate agent this week. Calling an agent starts a clock, and you're not on that clock yet.
What you need first is the math. How much would the fixable list cost, and how many years would it buy? What would it cost to stay with more help at home, compared with a move to a place built for how your parent lives now? That's the question the free Aging in Place Break-Even calculator is built to answer, and it's worth doing before anyone else is in the conversation.
And if the numbers eventually say sell, you still don't have to audition three agents, compare three prices you can't check, or be the one who tells somebody no. That part I can take off your plate when the time is right. Not before.
For now, walk the house. Make the two lists. Book the wellness visit. The family that does this in September is the family that gets to make the decision at a kitchen table instead of in a hospital hallway.
Frequently Asked Questions
How common are falls in older adults?
Very common. The CDC says more than one out of four people 65 and older falls each year, and less than half of them tell their doctor. Falling once doubles the chance of falling again, and older adult falls lead to about 4.5 million emergency department visits each year.
Does Medicare pay for grab bars in the bathroom?
No. The CMS national coverage determination for durable medical equipment, NCD 280.1, denies grab bars as a self-help device that isn't primarily medical in nature. It also denies bathtub seats and bathtub lifts. Families generally pay for these themselves, so budget for them when you plan home changes.
Does Medicare cover a walker or physical therapy for fall risk?
Yes, when the rules are met. Medicare.gov says Part B covers walkers, including rollators, when a provider prescribes one for use in the home, and it helps pay for medically necessary outpatient physical therapy, including therapy to maintain function or slow decline. After the Part B deductible, your parent pays 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for either.
What should I check in my parent's home to prevent falls?
Follow the CDC's Check for Safety checklist. Clear stairs and floors, fix loose steps and handrails, put rails on both sides of stairs, remove or secure throw rugs, tape cords to the wall, keep everyday items about waist high, add a lamp by the bed and nightlights to the bathroom, and put non-slip mats and grab bars in the tub and by the toilet.
When is a house no longer safe for a parent to age in place?
When the problems can't be fixed with small changes. Rugs, bulbs, cords, and grab bars are fixable. An only bathroom up a steep staircase, entry steps with no room for a rail or ramp, or laundry on another floor may not be. If that unfixable list is long, it's time to run the numbers on staying versus moving, before a fall forces the decision.
About Ryan Riggins
Ryan Riggins is a senior transition advisor and former house flipper. After 8+ years buying homes from families in transition, he walked away from the cash-buyer side to help families avoid the $50K mistakes he used to profit from. Based in Greensboro, NC. NC Real Estate License #361546, eXp Realty. Founder of Riggins Strategic Solutions and the Hammock365 app.
Weighing stay versus move? The free Aging in Place Break-Even calculator compares the cost of staying with help against a move: rigginsstrategicsolutions.com/tools/aging-in-place-break-even
If a fall has already happened. Read The First 72 Hours After Your Parent Falls: rigginsstrategicsolutions.com/blog/the-first-72-hours-after-your-parent-falls-what-nobody-tells-you
Want a step-by-step guide? The Senior Transition Blueprint is free, all 20 modules and 69 tools: rigginsstrategicsolutions.com/the-blueprint
Not sure where your family stands? The free Family Readiness Score takes five minutes and shows the gaps across the home, the money, the legal documents, care, and family alignment: rigginsstrategicsolutions.com/tools/family-readiness-score
Need a personalized plan? The Senior Transition Roadmap is free, by application. It adds calls with Ryan and 90 days of email support: rigginsstrategicsolutions.com/the-roadmap
Selling a parent's home? Ryan finds and vets the right local agent for your situation and stays in your corner on the whole sale, at no added cost to your family: rigginsstrategicsolutions.com/in-your-corner
Coordinate the family in one place. Hammock365 keeps daily check-ins, medications, and documents where the whole family can see them: hammock365.com
Sources
Checked September 18, 2026.
- Administration for Community Living, Falls Prevention Awareness Month Is Here, September 3, 2026. https://acl.gov/news-and-events/announcements/falls-prevention-awareness-month-here
- CDC, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Older Adult Falls Facts (updated September 4, 2026, reviewed September 8, 2026). Share who fall each year, telling the doctor, repeat falls, emergency visits and hospitalizations, hip fractures, traumatic brain injury, injury rate, fear of falling, and risk factors. https://www.cdc.gov/falls/data-research/facts-stats/index.html
- CDC STEADI, Check for Safety: A Home Fall Prevention Checklist for Older Adults. Room-by-room hazards and fixes. https://www.cdc.gov/steadi/pdf/steadi-brochure-checkforsafety-508.pdf
- CDC STEADI, Family Caregivers: Protect Your Loved Ones from Falling. Speaking up, medication lists, eye and foot checks, vitamin D, and exercise. https://www.cdc.gov/steadi/pdf/steadi-caregiverbrochure.pdf
- CMS, National Coverage Determination 280.1, Durable Medical Equipment Reference List. Grab bars, bathtub seats, and bathtub lifts listed as Deny. https://www.cms.gov/medicare-coverage-database/view/ncd.aspx?ncdid=190&ncdver=2
- Medicare.gov, Walkers. Part B coverage, prescription for home use, and 20% after the deductible. https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/walkers
- Medicare.gov, Physical therapy services. Coverage to improve or maintain function or slow decline, provider certification, no yearly limit, and 20% after the deductible. https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/physical-therapy-services
- Medicare.gov, Yearly wellness visits. No cost when the provider accepts assignment, prescription review, and when coinsurance can apply. https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/yearly-wellness-visits
