It is a natural biological phenomenon that your body will change as you grow old. You will not be able to do things that you could do easily or took it for granted at your young age. Now, since your old and your physical strength will not support such activities anymore.
- You will not be able to drive in the evenings when you suddenly remember that you need to buy something from the grocery store.
- You will even need help to visit your doctor, take your medicines, bathe and even cook your meals and eat.
At this age and times, you will need to make proper and meticulous plans to execute such acts, if you want to do it on your own.
On the other hand, at most, you will need a full-time companion to do all your jobs in your daily life. In such situations, a home care or home health care provider or an agency will come to your help.
However, just as living on your own when you age is not an easy job, it is also not an easy task to hire such an agency that will back you up properly and at all times. You will need to consider a lot of such home health care agencies in Philadelphia and compare their services and cost to make the best choice.
Making the place suitable
When you have made the final decision to age in your place and even have chosen the right kind of home health care aide for that matter, you will now need to make sure that both you as well as the home health care provider are comfortable living in the space together.
That means you will have to make the place suitable and make the necessary changes that are essentially required to make in your home suitable for you to age living in it. For this, you may need to repair and even make some additions in your home.
Remember, as per the state and federal laws for home health care aides you will need to:
- Make arrangements to accommodate the home caregiver in a separate room
- Provide time off within their service and
- Abide by all federal laws.
Therefore, your home needs to change. This is essential to deal with several issues related to old age such as:
- Reduced vision
- Less mobility
- Joint problems and arthritis and others.
It is a modified home that will lessen these issues when you age in your home keep you safe and happy.
Plan your home renovation
Most of these changes to the home are fairly inexpensive and easy to make such as:
- Changing the knobs on doors and kitchen cabinets to levers
- Removing the rugs, mats and other items to reduce the risk of slipping or tripping
- Putting on strong handrails on stairs
- Installing grab bars in tubs
- Using chairs in showers
- Brightening the interior lights
- Equipping the home with motion detectors and more.
Since all homes are not suitable for a person to age in it, there may a few where you will need to make significant changes. At times you will need to shift your master bedroom to the main living floor and may even have to install an elevator. These are changes that will need a significant amount of money as well.
Therefore, in order to make the most out of your money and investment as well as the available space within your house when you have to renovate your home, you should plan it well and only focus on your needs as well as that of the home caregivers.
- Do not go for any extravagance but stick to the basic necessities instead. Remember, these are not just one-time needs and investments.
- You will need repairs to be done regularly, taxes on your real estate to pay and make other necessary expenses.
Since you will live on a fixed income, you should be all the more careful with your finance so that you can deal with any emergencies as and when it occurs. Therefore, make sure that you plan both for your short term as well as your long-term benefits when you age and continue to live on, happily and in a healthier way.
A word of caution
Whatever you do to your home, just make sure that you make the modifications well before you need them. There are of lots of benefits when you plan ahead such as:
- It will reduce the chances of any accidents or falls and
- You will not have to look frantically to make arrangements for modifications right at the time when they are needed.
Planning ahead will keep you well prepared for any need and situations as well as help your aide to ensure the best care is provided when they are needed.
When you are unsure about what to change and what not to, you can look into a few good sources to get some ideas about modifying your home. This will help you a lot since everything in a home is not required to modify to age in place and sometimes things may not be as obvious as you may think either.
- One such good source is the National Association of Home Builders that may refer you to the Certified Aging in Place Specialists or CAPS.
- Another good source is AARP.
Last but not least, you should review and update your situation and make amendments in the process as and when required. It is obvious that situations will change over time and it can be for better but mostly it will be for the worse.
When you review the situations with the help of your home health care aide on a regular basis you will know what all changes and removals you need to make in your home. At the same time, you will also need to review the services available that too may require to be changed according to your need.
Trust the person with whom you review with to make sure aging in place is still the best option for you.
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Related:
When is it Time for Assisted Living for Seniors?
Home Adaptations for the Elderly
Senior Living Facilities Explained
How to Help an Aging Parent