Aging In Place
July 7, 2011
By Kitt Walsh
Though you still play a mean game of tennis or are the star at your aerobics class, sooner or later you’ve got to cast a glance towards your future and ask “Where will I end up?” Maybe such thoughts have been forced on you because you are the one taking care of your elderly parent (good for you) or maybe you are foresighted enough to know you have to do more than hope you don’t end up in a nursing home. However you got here, it’s time to figure out how you can continue living in your home, despite some of the less-than-pleasant aspects of growing older. By making some changes now, you may get to stay in the home you love years longer. Implement as many of these tips as you can now to help you “age in place.”
Problem: You don’t see as well as you used to—whether you have low vision, no night vision, poor depth perception or simply more trouble reading. Your hearing might getting a little worse, too. (Hey, even Bill Clinton wears a hearing aid.)
Solution:
Install higher wattage lighting (and plenty of it) and night-lights throughout your home. Make sure the outside of your home is well-lit, especially the walkways and driveway. Put lights in every closet and at the top and bottom of all stairs (with a switch at each end.)
Choose the carpet patterns on the steps carefully — too wild and the design can fool your eye, making you trip.
Get a great reading light and look into magnifiers, too (especially if your hobby is needlepoint, model-making or tying fishing flies.)
Activate the accessibility features on your cell phone (larger font, louder ring) and look into the apps that find and lock your phone when you misplace it.
Install high-frequency telephone bells, door bells and strobe lights on all your smoke detectors.
Problem: Your balance isn’t great (those damn knees) and you may not be as flexible as you used to be, so falls are a big hazard.
Solution:
Say goodbye to those throw rugs (or at least secure them with double-sided tape at all corners.)
Install banisters on both sides of all your steps (basement ones, too) and make the banisters extend a little beyond where the stairs end.
Have the stairs rebuilt to make the risers closer together. Put non-slip carpet inserts on each hardwood step and fasten securely. Mark the edges of each step in reflective tape or a lighter color carpet.
If you remember the TV show “The Farmer’s Daughter” (and if you do, you really are over 50) you’ll recall that Congressman Morley’s mother was played by the lovely actress, Cathleen Nesbit, who stole every scene she was in by descending down the staircase on an automated chair lift. You may look less graceful doing it, but such lifts are a Godsend when we can’t take the stairs safely and (for under $2000) can help you avoid falls till you get those knee replacements.
Retrofit your front door so it has no steps or failing that, invest in a portable ramp that can be laid over the steps, provides a slip-free surface and will accommodate a walker or wheelchair. These ramps fold up when not needed, open easily, and can be carried with a built-in handle.
Replace any uneven tiles as they are a tripping hazard. Put abrasive strips on bathroom tile floors and in the tub. Consider substituting slippery tile floors for special non-slip wooden flooring.
Install a built-in seat (or at least a wide rubber-footed portable seat) in the shower to help you avoid losing your balance.
Put grab bars in your tub, shower and near the toilet. The new models fold up when not in use and look sleek, so don’t worry about about your beautiful master bath looking ugly (or you looking ancient.)
Mount bathroom cabinets on the wall at 42” to reduce bending. Wall-mounted cabinets can be lowered later for wheelchair users.
Consider adding on a room (with bath) on the first level of your home. For now it can become an exercise studio or home office, but later it can serve as your master bed/bath. Or move now to an existing lower level bedroom and leave the upstairs for visiting guests or grandkids. Consider adding an elevator (or the shaft for one) by retrofitting a closet or pantry.
Start clearing away clutter. It’s time. The kids are gone and it’s just you. Give away what you can and throw away the rest. The object of the game is to end up with a clear (rollable) path from the car to the front door and the front door to all major areas of the house, with nothing in the way to trip you up.
Have an electrician install more outlets so that you have no loose electrical wires or extension cords hanging around the floor.
Bell the cat (and small dog) so you can hear them coming and don’t fall over them.
Problem: You fell anyway and broke something or have to use a walker or a wheelchair.
Solution:
Get a recessed track with a removable plate installed above your tub. This can be used for a harness chair to swing you into your tub (or over your toilet) when you need a lift. You can use this by yourself now and later it will make a caregiver’s life much easier.
Consider constructing a roll-in shower in place of your old fiberglass shower stall. Tile all the way to the ceiling, slope the floor tile slightly downward (no shower curtain needed) and install a hand-held shower.
Install shower/bath controls that don’t require pinching, grabbing or twisting of your hands to operate them. (Arthritis can make all these motions difficult.) Push button controls are good as long as the buttons are large and the text on them highly readable. Mark the hot water with a red button.
Use a pressure-reducing mix valve that doesn’t allow for surges of hot water to accidently scald you.
Widen doorways to accommodate a wheelchair and consider sliding doors instead of doors that swing in or out (tough to operate when you are not ambulatory.)
Use levers instead of knobs on all doors and cabinets.
Kitchen cabinets can be adapted with lazy Susans and slide-out shelves. Countertops should be lowered to be accessible to wheelchair height. Consider sinks (both in the kitchen and bath) that can you can slide underneath in a wheelchair. Make all the faucets lever-type and put them on the side, not the back, of the sink.
Raise dishwashers 10 inches higher than normal so you can access the back from a sitting position.
Get a cooktop (possibly an induction one—no flames or coils) with controls at the front. Your microwave should be no higher than 48 inches above the floor and get an oven door that swings open to the side. Look for push button controls for all appliances and replace standard light switches with rocker light switches (set down to wheelchair height.) Get a front loading washer and dryer.
Problem: Your kids are worried about you living on your own in your “old age.”
Solution: Show them you are taking measures to be safe, keeping active and healthy and are adapting to your soon-to-be new reality.
Make a file of all your doctors, prescriptions, medical records, allergies, your DNR, Living Will, bank account number, stock/pension portfolios and computer passwords. Email it to your adult children. Update it regularly.
Adapt your interests. Get a garden seat to do your weeding from a sitting position (saves your back and holds all your tools.) Join a neighborhood walking group, so your kids will know you’ve got people to check on you if you go missing. Don’t just sit watching TV when your kids visit.
Stop trying to fix everything yourself. Stay off the roof (someone else can clear the gutters.) Hire a neighborhood kid to show up at the first snowflake with pet-friendly salt to sprinkle on all areas you have to walk on outside. Pay in advance for someone to shovel your driveway after every storm. Keep your driveway clear so you can be reached quickly in the event of an emergency.
Have big, clear house numbers so Emergency Management Services can see them easily.
Keep your house clean (hire someone), well-lit, and warm. Keep the fridge well-stocked with fresh foods (you can sign up for grocery delivery.) Get your eyes and hearing tested every year and check-in regularly with your family. Once they know you are fine and doing well in your own home, they will be reassured and you can continue, contentedly, aging in place.
Kitt Walsh owns a web content company, Behind Blogs (www.behindblogs.com) and freelances as a feature writer, editor and marketing consultant for magazines, newspapers and private clients around the world.