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Health & Fitness

How Retro -- Staying In Your Own Modified Home, Sweet Home

What major ways can you fix up your home so you can age in place?

Your home is your castle and anyone who has lived in the same home for a long time will tell you that. Plus, of course, your home is where your children grew up and the place where your grandchildren love to come and visit. Your home is full of memories including love, life, Christmas memories and more. No one really wants to give that up ever!

As you age you may be concerned about the possibility of having to give up your family home. Being placed into an assisted living facility or a nursing home are huge fears for seniors today. This doesn’t have to happen and there are other alternatives available to you as you age.

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Aging in place -- Oh yeah

AARP reported that 89% of seniors would prefer to stay in their homes as they age, or “age in place” as it is being called. So deciding whether to make these changes to your home or to move into an assisted living facility can be a difficult choice for many. You might decide to make some major changes to your home to make it more senior safe.

Some of the ways to do this are listed in Retrofitting Your Home or Choosing Assisted Living, by Christy Rakoczay October 2013. They come from the National Association of Home Builders, based out of Washington D.C.

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  • Light switches by each entrance to halls and rooms.
  • Home wired for computers.
  • Light receptacles with at least two bulbs in vital places (exits, bathroom).
  • Light switches, thermostats, and other environmental controls placed in accessible locations no higher than 48 in. from floor.
  • Electrical outlets 15 in. on center from floor; may need to be closer than 12 ft apart.
  • Clear access space of 30 in. by 48 in. in front of switches and controls.
  • Rocker or touch light switches.
  • Audible and visual strobe light system to indicate when the doorbell, telephone, or smoke or carbon monoxide detectors have been activated.
  • High-tech security/intercom system that can be monitored, with the heating, air conditioning, and lighting, from any TV in the house.
  • Easy-to-see and read thermostats.
  • Pre-programmed thermostats.
  • Flashing porch light or 9-1-1 switch direct-wired to police, fire, and EMS (as option).
  • Home wired for security.
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    This is quite a different list from the typical ones we have been sharing that talk about hand holds in the bathroom, picking up clutter and such. For one thing these are far more extensive and expensive. When we are talking about changing electrical outlets and light switches, we are talking about retrofitting that goes way beyond bath mats and nightlights. 

    Retrofits: How Retro

    Some other retrofits can include moving the plumbing or even making changes to bathtub in the bathroom. You’ve seen ads for those walk-in tubs. That is a retrofit. So is moving the washing machine to the first floor if you currently have it upstairs. You might also consider an elevator device to get you up and down those stairs.

    Christy adds:

    The cost of most assisted living facilities can range from $3,000 to $8,000 a month. Reworking electrical systems and changing the infrastructure of the home can also cost tens of thousands of dollars. However, clearly, depending on the scope of work that needs to be completed for an effective retrofit of the home, it does have the capacity to be exponentially less expensive than assisted living care.

    This is something that you can easily plan for in advance as well. Staying in your own home and being independent is always the best solution. Who doesn’t love to have their own place being surrounded by their own belongings?

    So although you may not require any additional help at the moment, planning long term never hurts. After all, you no doubt planned in advance before having your children and you planned for your retirement. So it makes sense to plan for living your senior years in the best manner possible.

    In home care agencies to the rescue

    Of course, we all run the risk of developing issues that requires more than just fixes, perhaps you will need to add supervision. If this occurs there are still ways for you to stay in your own home. Caregiver agencies like ours employ professional in home care staff, who are qualified to come to your home as necessary. Again this allows you the happiness of staying in your own surroundings for that much longer.

    Even if everyday tasks such as shopping or just getting to an appointment become difficult, in home care agencies can help with that as well. No matter what your situation you have plenty of options for asking for help. You don’t want to feel lonely either.  Besides all this retrofitting and professional help you probably have family members eager to help just waiting for you to ask. Your teenage grandchildren would love the chance to come and visit you more often and they love to feel needed. You would be doing them a favor.

    Staying at home is easier than you think if you work out some technical details and are able to retrofit your home. What would you like to have fixed right now?

    For more great information, please come visit the blog at our Sequoia Senior Solutions website.

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