Universal Design and Age in Place

Apr 23 2009 8:40AM | Permalink | Email this | Comments (1) |
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By Patricia Nunan

I love my job. Every week is a new challenge and I meet so many wonderful people. Last week I met the nicest gentleman, Jonathon. Where it asked for a disability on his application for home mods he wrote “aged”. Jonathon is 81 years old. Jon, as he likes to be called never married and lives in his tiny family homestead. He was lifelong teacher of history, English and music and used to play in a band. Now Jon wears hearing aids in both ears and walks with a bent over shuffle. Jon is active in his church and community. He still drives (that’s an issue for another day) to the senior center at his church Mondays and Wednesdays and the community center Tuesday’s and Fridays. What I love about Jon is the tinkle in his eyes when he tells a story and his determination to remain independent.

Jon didn’t plan to age in place, it just happened. Like most seniors in their late 70s, 80s or older, age seemed to have a way of sneaking up on Jon and now he lives in a home that’s not only hard to keep maintained but very hard to overcome major obstacles to independence like taking a bath, shaving, (he’s very proud of his close shave) cooking and getting the laundry done.

To help Jon remain as independent as possible for as long as he can a few things were done recently and we will be doing more. Jon’s friends and neighbors help out with the lawn and Meals-on-Wheels comes daily. He had railings put in along the sidewalk to his front door — up two sets of 5 steps — and a stair glide was installed to help him get to the second floor where the only bathroom is. We will be gutting the bathroom and replacing the fixtures, adding better lighting and safety features. The tub will be replaced with a Sterling (by Kohler) low threshold shower with grab bars, a hand held shower, anti-scald valve and a drop down seat. An Elcoma wall mounted drop down grab bar goes between the new comfort height toilet and shower since there’s no wall to secure a grab bar at the toilet. These seemingly small things mean Jon can remain in his home for a few more years.

Jon represents most of my elderly clients. It’s going to take as big an effort as the green movement is today to help people understand that it’s better to replace with low or no maintenance materials when remodeling and repairing and to start making preparations sooner for when they get older. Hopefully as more and more contractors are educated information will be passed on to clients. As more homes are made to accommodate the aging, it will be easier for people like Jon to remain independent and safe in their home for as long as they choose.

My tip of the week — install blocking for grab bars. All it takes is a little time & scraps of wood in a remodeling project to make a home safer. Even if the customer refuses grab bars put the blocking in and take a picture of it. Put it with the manuals your give to the client when the job is completed. They can pass it on the next homeowner too.