Most older adults prefer to remain living in their own homes as long as possible. Adult children often worry about their parents' well-being and encourage them to move closer to resources like family caregivers, health care, transportation, and social activities. This can cause conflict and stress for families.
Creating a plan for successful aging in place can increase the likelihood that older adults living at home will remain safe, well, and happy, and can also reassure worried loved ones and therefore improve strained relationships.
We've prepared a handy checklist for you. Download the Making a Plan for Successful Aging in Your Own Home checklist here and read on to find out more about each step.
How to Make Living at Home Safer and More Practical
- Manage your health carefully
- Make your home safe
- Have a practical post-driving transportation plan
- Utilize services to help with personal care
- Utilize services to help with daily living
- Be prepared for emergencies
- Have a local advocate
- Stay connected to things that bring you joy
- Make a "Plan B"
- Demonstrate to loved ones that you are safe and well
Care is There can help you create and implement your own customized plan for successfully remaining in your own home. We will identify your risks and opportunities, suggest a plan of action based on best practices and your personal preferences, arrange the products and services you choose, and remain involved as your advisor and emergency advocate.
1. Manage Your Health Carefully
To successfully remain in your own home it is vital to avoid injury and disease and to manage current health problems carefully. This includes:
- Preventing falls caused by in-home hazards (see next section)
- Following an exercise program designed for you by a healthcare provider to maintain strength, balance, and flexibility
- Taking medications as prescribed, and telling your doctor about side effects like dizziness or confusion so they can be resolved
- Keeping doctor’s appointments, having necessary tests, immunizations, etc.
- Making lifestyle changes that help control chronic conditions like high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes
- Ensuring that assistive devices like walkers and canes are fitted properly and in good repair
Care is There can help by:
- Doing a home safety audit and helping you arrange for suggested home safety improvements
- Helping you find an exercise specialist, and ensuring you have the proper exercise setting, transportation, and encouragement
- Picking up prescriptions, helping you choose a pill organizer or dispenser, checking your medications and discussing them with your doctor, and watching for medication side effects
- Reminding you of upcoming doctor’s appointments and accompanying you as your advocate
- Helping you implement healthy lifestyle changes
- Helping you have your assistive devices fitted, repaired, and maintained
2. Make Your Home Safe
It’s easy to overlook safety hazards in your own home, but there are good resources to help you identify and resolve them. For example:
If you decide to modify your home to make it safer, consider hiring a Certified Aging in Place Specialist. This designation indicates that the provider has been educated in design and building techniques that make living spaces safer and easier to use.
For more information see this post: "Fall Prevention: How Knowledge is Power".
Read about how to make your home more secure against crime in our Home Security Tips for Senior Citizens.
Care is There can help by:
- Doing a safety assessment of your home
- Helping you arrange for suggested home safety improvements
- Being present when service people arrive to install safety devices
3. Have a Post-Driving Transportation Plan
To remain living in your own home, you’ll need a plan for transportation once you can no longer drive safely. Public transportation is an option in many places, and companion agencies often provide transportation. This article will give you more information about what to do when driving becomes a problem and how to plan for post-driving transportation: Transportation Options for Seniors.
Care is There can help by:
- Helping you identify and utilize transportation alternatives
- Providing transportation to appointments
4. Utilize Services to Help with Personal Care
If you need help with activities of daily living like bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring, or eating, consider using the services of a personal care aide. Personal care aides can be hired privately or through agencies. See How to Hire a Personal Care Aide for more information about what to do and the ways Care is There Geriatric Care Management can help.
5. Utilize Services to Help with Daily Living
Many older adults can benefit by assistance with “instrumental activities of daily living” like meal preparation, housekeeping, bill paying/money management, shopping, using the telephone, and home maintenance. This is especially true after the death of a spouse.
There are many community resources providing these services, and some specialize in serving older adults. Sometimes local Area Agencies on Aging can provide referrals to these service providers. Many communities now have senior "Villages", that help connect their members to community resources.
Care is There can help by:
- Pinpointing the services and providers best suited to your needs. We are well informed about local services and have direct experience with many service providers. As your advocate we also ensure that you have a choice of providers and that you receive good value and excellent service, and we help you switch providers if you aren’t happy
- Being present when service people arrive at your home
- Helping you organize your mail, pay your bills, file and track your insurance claims, get your tax documents organized for your CPA
- Running errands for you or with you
6. Be Prepared for Emergencies
Living successfully in your own home requires you to be prepared for emergencies.
To be prepared for a medical emergency, have the following information in your wallet and posted on your refrigerator for the rescue squad:
- Medical history
- Medication list including over the counter drugs and medication allergies
- Emergency contact information
- Advance medical directives
- Do not resuscitate orders, if any
For more information see this post and video: "Calling 911: What to Do and What to Expect."
Also consider using a personal emergency response system that allows you to call for help when needed. There are many types of PERS systems, many of which now include fall detection technology.
To be prepared for a weather emergency, you should have an emergency kit and have an emergency plan. The Federal Emergency Management Program (FEMA) publishes a guide called "Preparing Makes Sense for Older Adults." You can also watch this video about Disaster Preparedness for Senior Citizens".
Care is There can help by:
- Gathering your medical emergency information, posting it on your refrigerator and in your wallet, and keeping it up to date
- Creating a plan for who to contact during an emergency
- Helping you develop and communicate your plan for a weather emergency
- Helping you create your weather emergency kit
- Helping you choose and activate a personal emergency response system
- Advocating for you during medical emergencies
7. Have a Local Advocate
It’s very important to have a local advocate in case you have an emergency. An advocate can also help you negotiate circumstances that you might otherwise find unfamiliar, confusing, intimidating, or just plain unpleasant!
Advocates come in many forms. They may be your legal agent, as in the case of agents under medical or general power of attorney. Or they can be a friend or a professional person who looks after you and helps you get things done. Everyone can benefit from a local advocate who can be with you in person to help carry out your wishes.
All adults should have an advance medical directive in which they state what kind of medical treatment they do or don’t want if they are incapacitated and who they appoint to make medical decisions on their behalf. An elder law attorney can draft an advance medical directive for you or you can utilize the Five Wishes format which is accepted in almost every US state.
You should also consider granting a durable general power of attorney in case you are incapacitated and can’t make your own decisions. This decision should be made carefully and only be given to someone you trust, but it can be extremely helpful. An elder law attorney can advise you.
Care is There can help by:
- Connecting you with elder law attorneys who can advise you about advance medical directives and general powers of attorney
- Being your local advocate (though not your legal agent) during emergencies, doctor’s appointments, negotiations, and any other circumstance where you’d like someone trustworthy at your side
8. Stay Connected to Things That Bring You Joy
As life changes it’s important to stay connected to the things that bring us joy. When we can’t drive anymore, when we lose a spouse, or when our health declines these sources of joy can slip further from our grasp. We must keep them near!
You may choose to plant a garden in raised beds, adopt a "senior" pet, take a class at the Senior Center, participate in group travel, attend worship services, join Facebook to keep up with the grandkids, or contribute your talents as a volunteer to a community group. The key is to do something you love.
Care is There can help by helping you identify and participate in areas of personal interest.
9. Make a "Plan B"
Sometimes, despite all our best efforts, it no longer works for us to remain in our homes. It might be due to cognitive impairment or a sudden medical event or the slow progression of a chronic condition. Accordingly, it’s good to have a "Plan B."
If you do need to live somewhere with more supportive services, where would that be? Closer to your adult children? In a nearby senior living community? Visit some alternatives and decide what you will choose if the time comes.
Care is There can help by suggesting alternatives and accompanying you on visits to potential future residences.
10. Demonstrate to Loved Ones That You Are Safe and Well
Many adult children are very worried about their parents' well being, especially if they live far away, have health problems, have lost a spouse or have already experienced a fall. They may urge their parents to move to a “safer” residence. This can lead to unfortunate tension within families.
Once you create your plan for successful aging in your own home, share it with your loved ones so they will be reassured that you are educated about your risks and your options and have taken steps to make your living situation safer.
Have a local advocate who sees you often and that your loved one can speak to directly about your well being.
Create a system in which your loved one, your advocate, or your friends or neighbors know you are safe and well. You could call or text them each day, or use a service like Care Checkers to call you. You can make an agreement with neighbors to raise a window shade or pick up your newspaper by a certain time of day. There are also many new devices that can send alerts if you have not taken your medication by a certain time, or opened the refrigerator, or gotten out of bed.
Obtain - and utilize - a personal emergency response system (see "Be Prepared for Emergencies" above.)
Care is There can help by:
- Visiting you regularly and reassuring your loved ones that you are safe and well
- Helping you create a system in which your well being is confirmed and communicated to people who may otherwise worry about you
For more information about any of these suggestions, contact Care is There Geriatric Care Management by calling 800.434.1633 or by emailing us at Info@CareisThere.com.
Resources:
- National Institute of Health - National Institute on Aging
- US Department of Health and Human Services Administration on Aging
- Beers List of Medications that Older Adults Should Avoid or Use With Caution
- Consumer Product Safety Commission: Safety for Older Consumers – Home Safety Checklist
- Safescore.org
- Certified Aging in Place Specialists
- Area Agencies on Aging
- Village to Village Network
- FEMA: Preparing Makes Sense for Older Adults
- Disaster Preparedness for Senior Citizens
Next Steps
Contact Care is There today for a free consultation!
Toll Free: 800.434.1633
Email: Info@CareisThere.com