Making Your Home Last a Life Time

A Plan to Age in Place
By Nicole A. Morgan, OTR
Home Modification Specialist
Life Time Designs

What does it mean to age in place?  Aging in place means that you are able to secure the necessary support services and modify your home in order to live in your current residence for as long as you are physically and reasonably capable.  Aging in place is a choice that empowers an individual over their independence and quality of life.  The decision to age in place is not just for the “older” population, but one that everybody should consider in their adult life no matter what stage of life they are in.  As you prepare to age in your current home, ask yourself these three questions: Is my home set up to be safe for the coming years and what may lie ahead of me physically? What modifications do I need in order to make my home safe to age in place? What community resources are available to help me with aging in place?  Other areas we must address when deciding to age in place are healthcare, family support, and financial security, although our foundation is the place where we live day to day.  According to CDC (Centers for Disease Control) statistics, one in three people over the age of 65 fall each year.  Falls are the leading cause of injury deaths and the most common cause of injuries and admissions to the hospital.  The majority of these falls, occur in the home and can be prevented with home safety modifications.

When we are young, we build or remodel homes that are convenient and comfortable for us and our lifestyle.  As we accept that we are aging, we realize that the home we chose in our younger years should be aging with us.  Home modifications are one of the best solutions for aging in place.  Applying safety home modifications can help you improve independence with activities of daily living, mobility, balance, dignity and the overall quality of life.  Without them, your daily outcomes can lead to unsafe habits, environments, and compensations for daily activities which could result in falls, a decrease in independence, and a decline in quality of life.  Rather than the misconception of making your home look like an institution, home modifications for safe aging in place may be your solution from having to live in a nursing home or with assisted living.  Now is the best time to have your life time home assessed for safety and the modifications needed for aging in place, regardless of your age or stage of life.  You don’t want to wait until you are well into the aging process or after an injury has occurred to make these modifications. Take the opportunity now to prepare appropriately for a safe environment for the rest of your life in your current home, or the one you are purchasing or remodeling.

Anyone can perform a basic assessment for safety in their home if they know what to look for.  Many safety checklists are available to the public that help make your home safe in order to reduce the risk for falls.  To increase safety, we have provided a list of suggestions that could be applied to every room of your home.

1. Make sure all pathways for walking are clear and free of clutter and furniture.
2. Remove any unsecured throw rugs.
3. Secure all loose wires from lamps, extension cords or telephones.
4. Remove clutter, especially in walkways and on the floor.
5. Make sure each room is well lit.
6. Move items that you use everyday within safe reach.
7. Use non-slip rubber mats or strips in the bathtub/shower and on the floor.
8. Have grab bars or stair rails installed to have a secure hand hold and safe transitions.
9. Plug in night lights in or very near your pathway from your bed to the bathroom for night time use.
10. Have portable phones available throughout the house or an emergency response system in place.

Performing a safety checklist assessment is only one step in preparing your home to age in place.  Universal accessibility is becoming a more common term that is used with home modifications, safety risk assessment, and aging in place.  By adding universal modifications, you can actually increase the value of your home due to the current progressing trends of aging in today’s society and along with the endless choices of aesthetically pleasing modifications that can be constructed or purchased.   Making your home universally accessible means your home not only has minimal safety risks, but has all the necessary modifications needed to accommodate common aging challenges that we face with mobility such as balance and standing, bending and reaching, reduced hearing, grasping and holding, sitting and lying down, and lastly, poor eye sight (low vision).  Universal and basic home modifications can include adding a ramp, constructing a step-less entry, widening doorways and hallways, lowering counter tops and cabinets, threshold ramps, installing grab bars and hand rails, walk-in showers,  lever door handles, plus many, many more to accommodate your specific needs.

Life Time Designs is a community resource available to those who are aging and who are planning to age in place.  We are unique in that we offer the clinical expertise of the Occupational Therapist who is certified in home modifications, has the ability to properly assess a home for safety risks for falls, and makes the necessary home modification recommendations for universal accessibility for aging in place.  The Occupational Therapist is partnered with a CAPS (Certified Aging in Place Specialist) Contractor and by consulting and working together, the client gains a modified home and the education they need for continued safety.  Our mission is to provide safe, reasonable, aesthetically pleasing home modifications whether they are large or small to our aging community and to provide the education necessary to maintain a healthy, safe lifestyle in order to realistically age in place.

Let us help you, Make Your Home Last a Life Time.