How seniors can stay in their homes as they age
You bought your home in your 30s or 40s. Decades passed, as children’s footsteps clattered up and down the stairs; cabinets were packed from top to bottom with food, plates, glasses, cooking utensils. Lovely throw rugs decorated the floors. You could find your way anywhere in the dark.
Then suddenly you are in your 70s or 80s. The children are grown and gone. Stairs are getting harder and harder to climb. You can’t reach the top shelves of your cabinets without climbing on a precarious step stool. You have trouble kneeling down to get that pan out of the oven. It’s hard to get in and out of the bathtub. You stumble in dark hallways and trip over throw rugs.
Will you have to leave your home and move into an assisted living facility?
Craig Waddell hopes to help you stay in your home as you get older. A Houghton City Councilman, Waddell has formed a group in the Copper Country to educate and support people who want to age in place.
More than 23% of people in the Western UP are 65 or over, significantly higher than the national average of 16.9%.
A recent AARP survey found that 77% of older Americans want to age in place, meaning live in their own home safely, independently and comfortably. However, most houses and apartments are designed for young, able-bodied adults and don’t meet the needs of older residents.
Last week, Waddell invited Michigan AARP Associate Director Karen Kafantaris to talk about aging in place and AARP’s HomeFit program. Kafantaris pioneered this AARP initiative. Working with an occupational therapist and principles of universal design—defined as an environment designed to be accessed, understood and used by people regardless of their age, size, ability, or disability—Kafantaris developed the HomeFit program.
HomeFit helps seniors identify barriers to remaining in their homes as they age and suggests ways to modify that home for safety and comfort. The HomeFit guide can also help elected officials, policymakers and local leaders learn about and advocate for the housing options that communities require, so residents of all ages can live safely and comfortably—and thrive.
It is available as a free booklet or can be downloaded as a PDF from AARP.
By 2030, Kafantaris said, one in five Americans will be over 65 and living alone. The HomeFit guide offers more than 100 tips to make their homes “aging-friendly.”
Room by room, she described the issues facing older people living in homes built for able-bodied young adults: stairs, high cabinets, lighting, tubs that are hard to climb into, throw rugs, door knobs and cabinet handles that can be difficult for aging hands to use—the list goes on and on. But there are solutions—some of them easy and inexpensive, others requiring more investment and professional help.
Quick fixes include:
Replace throw rugs or put non-slip pads under them
Put nightlights in every room
Carry a cell phone wherever you go
Keep flashlights in every room and check batteries regularly
Make sure you have large, easy to see address numbers on your house to enable first responders to find it quickly
Secure electrical cords along walls, so they aren’t a tripping hazard
Use a simple tool known as a grabber to get items off high shelves
Have lights at both ends of hallways and stairs
Replace lightbulbs that are too dim or too bright
Keep a working fire extinguisher in the kitchen
More expensive, but important:
Have grab bars installed in the bathroom, by your bed, wherever you might need them
Replace cabinet knobs with D-shaped pulls
Replace over-the stove microwave with one that sits on the counter
Replace doorknobs with lever-style handles
Have CO2 and smoke detectors installed on every floor
Replace light switches with rocker switches
Invest in no-touch lamps
Install non-skid strips on uncarpeted stairs
Install a video doorbell
Build a no-step entrance or install a ramp
Replace traditional tub with a walk-in shower
“You can stay in your home as you age,” Kafantaris said. “It just takes some thought, some planning, and some modifications.”
