Aging in Place: Is Your Home Ready for You?
5 Strategies to be Safe at Home in 2021
The term “aging in place” is used most often to describe your ability to “live in your own home for as long as confidently and comfortably as possible.” It primarily addresses how to care for your emotional and physical health in order to grow older in your own home and to avoid institutional or congregate care environments. The year 2020 has only endorsed the concept even more! When you search online, you will find thousands of support agencies focused on your body’s physical, emotional and psychological health, but you will find very little help on how to ensure your house is ready and cared for you as you age! You know that one accidental fall could change your entire future, but you don’t know about the assistive devices or adaptations that could help. And even then, you don’t know where to get them, what options exist, or how to install them.
Golden Home Management, an experienced care management company that cares for your home, has 5 Strategies to ensure your home is ready and cared for you as you age.
Talk to someone about your daily routine and what things are becoming more challenging or demanding for you to do. Is it simple service-type tasks like taking out the garbage, cleaning gutters, cutting the grass or going in your basement to check furnace filters? Or is it more complicated: a walk-in shower, a creative home re-design, home security/wandering system, a need for equipment to monitor home systems and someone to respond to problems or emergencies? We know and completely understand that it is difficult to discuss limitations and obstacles but it is a fact of life that as our body ages, it is NORMAL to lose some function and/or flexibility! It is also a fact of life that weather emergencies, equipment failure, and home repairs issues do impact your ability to safely stay in your home. No matter how much you want to stay in your home, one serious fall could destroy that prospect forever. So instead of thinking about this as an admission of you cannot or do not want to do anymore; approach this conversation from the perspective with the question: what things in your house should/could be changed to make life easier for you! And if you’re a family member that needs to begin a discussion with your mom or dad, asking questions about house maintenance and/or creative design is so much more supportive! You’re sending the message that you understand and support their need/desire to stay in their most treasured environment: their home. But you are also being realistic about how the home will need to adapt and support that goal!
Get help from Professionals: An initial conversation with family will undoubtedly lead to a need for more information. There are literally thousands of home based providers who want your business but not all home-based providers are alike! Certified Home Health providers are Medicare certified and focus on your physical needs to provide a skilled care service by a Registered Nurse or Rehabilitation therapist. Supportive Home or Companion service providers are not covered by Medicare or insurance and address social/supportive needs like housekeeping, grocery shopping, meal preparation, and transportation. Every County Government has an Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) so often this is a good place to call to check the credentials of home health providers or to get a list of reputable companies. Most reputable Home Health and Supportive Home Care companies do provide free assessments focusing on physical, mental and emotional health issues but do NOT assess the equipment or integrity of your physical environment. While they may often recommend grab bars, ramps, or other environmental adaptations, they cannot arrange for the installation or renovation of anything in your home. Companies like Golden Home Management which do attend to any and all environmental needs, work in tandem with the ADRC and hundreds of reputable home-health agencies so that your physical health is supported by the care and management for home needs. So we strongly suggest that in addition to an assessment of your functional/physical needs; ask for a free environmental assessment from a company like GHM as well as! Remember the question: what things in my house should/could be changed to make life easier for me? An environmental safety assessment by a Certified Aging in Place professional using the HOME FIT guide developed and endorsed by AARP will ensure your home is ready for you now and adapts to your needs as you age.
Be Preventative! Humans seem to have the tendency to think and plan for what they see in their immediate windshield. Think about this! We seem to expect that who we are and what we can do will be relatively the same………..after graduation; after the wedding; after the baby; after a joint replacement; after retirement; after the death of a spouse. But things do significantly change throughout life. Yet we often can’t envision needs until we are in the midst of a significant alteration or crisis. For most of us we acknowledge that our home is our greatest emotional treasure and equitable asset. We acknowledge we do not want to go to a nursing home or assisted living…. Ever! Yet we fail to see what preventative measures we can put in place now to avoid a crisis. Now you may think this refers to just the physical health of your person , but if you acknowledge your home is your greatest treasure then you need to acknowledge its need for preventative maintenance and supportive systems to not only keep you safe but to keep itself safe and in good working order. Too many older adults find themselves in an unsafe environment due to neglected mechanical systems or ignored service needs. Understandably, they often don’t know who to call for what and have to be so careful now with so many scams and dishonest contractors. In addition to the initial HOME FIT assessment, you need to plan for ongoing oversight and support for your home preferably from one competent, capable, and reliable professional firm. Golden Home Management provides the model that addresses home needs now and into the future; recommends creative home adaptations reviewed during frequent and routine in-home visits; manages an ongoing maintenance plan of all equipment and home-based service needs (snow removal, lawn care, window cleaning, etc.) , and 24/7 help for any home emergency! By compiling a network of fully vetted tradesmen and vendors, Golden Home management can ensure that preventative measures are in place to acknowledge its true value to you!
Use Technology! We know this can be a scary word for seniors. But you have to fight the fear! There are amazing devices out there to really make your world inside your house safe and well-maintained. Would you like to call your son by just using your voice or allow him to call you without you having to get off your comfy chair? Or better yet, change channels on the TV with just telling it to put the Packer Game on or turn to the Golf Channel or turn the volume up or down? (That confounded remote is too difficult to figure out anyway.) Or how about a system that detects water in your basement or people in your house when you’re away? Maybe you’re starting to experience some mild “recall” or memory loss and you’d benefit from routine reminders to take your pills or automatically send a signal to a cell phone if someone enters or exits the house? Maybe you’re a snowbird and want to be alerted if the furnace stops? Most technology can be managed by a family member or a company like Golden Home Management. Today’s seniors remember getting their first color TV in their house, and now have learned to use a myriad of video devices including on our phone. Within the next twenty years, a senior will expect their home to be a SMART Home! Now is the time to embrace technology in your home, increase its value and align with your needs!
Think long-term! (You’ve probably guessed this by now.) Look beyond your windshield! You will realistically live 20-40 years after retirement!! To prepare your body for that journey there’s plenty advice out there about eating right, exercising, staying socially engaged and taking advantage of joint replacements and medical care before it’s too late. But you need to prepare your house for that journey too! Is the layout of your home a livable design for the next 25+ years? What mechanical systems need to monitored quarterly, annually and when should equipment be replaced and by whom? Within the last generation, we saw a number of seniors flock to condominiums to address some of those questions. This generation of seniors seems less enthralled by the condo due in part due to high cost (who wants a mortgage at 70 years old?); the excessive condo association fees; and the politics and pitfalls of congregate communities. We want to stay home and retain the value in our home. Quite honestly, we will never live anywhere as cheaply as our own home without a mortgage!! The innovative model of care for a home provided by Golden Home Management offers the ability to have a life-long relationship with the leader in home management firms that includes ongoing assessments of home maintenance and mechanical systems; manages adaptations and plans for livable design modifications; focuses on safety and prevention of systems and layout; offers state of the art technology services and monitoring, and provides for any home need 24/7 all at a cost less than a condominium monthly fee!
Successful Aging in Place requires an alignment of care of your person and your home! Each equally important in order to ensure your happiness and well-being no matter your age! Now is the best time to ask what things in my house should/could be changed to make life easier for me? Focus on prevention of unnecessary repairs as well as accidents/incidents compromising your safety. Take advantage of the free assessments and professional experts to make sure you know what’s available to you for yourself and your home. Embrace technology! It will make your life better in more ways than you can imagine. And look beyond your windshield! Where do you want to be in 20+ years? Envision your future then plan for it! Finally, look for long-term relationships with care management companies for yourself and your home that will adapt and adjust with you.
Happy New Year! Wishing you a wonderful and safe 2021 and beyond!
Your Team at Golden Home Management
