Accidents, chronic illnesses, and the aging process itself can inhibit a senior’s independence. By challenging mobility, these occurrences prevent a senior from moving with ease. They also interfere with several of a senior’s activities of daily living: transferring, feeding (including taking necessary medications), bathing, toileting and dressing.

“A senior’s biggest worry is about falls,” says Bob. “Falls are the death knell of older people.”

Bob suggests that when visiting Mom and Dad, adult children must observe how their parents are getting around the house. Checking each room for tripping hazards and areas that are difficult to access or maintain is an important first step. Professional assessments are typically more comprehensive and cover the exterior of the home, all entry areas, bathrooms, bedrooms, laundry, garage, basement, kitchen, dining, lighting and fire safety.

When we complete a professional assessment, we return a thorough summary with recommendations for fall prevention, home safety and suggested modifications that are personalized for each homeowner,” Bob says.

“Sometimes we get cries for help. A senior is being discharged from the hospital, and the family wants us at home with a solution in minutes to hours.” On other occasions, families have planned ahead. “Whatever the circumstances, seniors are often surprised to learn the home modification fixes are often so easy, and they are always good.”

Solutions come in all shapes, sizes and levels of assistance and enablement: stairlifts, home elevators, or something as simple as levers in lieu of round doorknobs for easier grasping, raised outlets or automatic switches to turn on lights, widened doors for wheelchairs, and walk in tubs for easier access. “These are only a few of the home modifications we use to make the home safe for today and tomorrow.”

The real goal is to avoid tripping and the hazards involved with the basics, getting on and off the toilet, up and down the stairs, and getting in and out of the house, tub or shower.

Grab bars are heralded as the new seat belts for seniors, Bob says. They can be installed as railings on both sides of a hallway, a tub or shower or coming in from the garage. In any of these and other places, they are life savers, he says. “And now, they come in many styles and colors but it’s always advisable to get the peened handles for gripping and the blocking or stud to secure them.”

As important, is the fact that these solutions are economically viable. A risk/reward evaluation suggests the prudence of home modification solutions, whether a family is faced with a crisis or thinking ahead, says Bob. Consider that $10,000 invested in safe home modifications equals the cost of one month in a nursing home and a month and a half in assisted living. Assisted living in Northern New Jersey now costs between at least almost $3,400 and can be as much as $10,000 per month, he says.

A one-stop solution and differentiator
Bob’s focus on aging in place became crystal clear when his mother, an Idaho resident, had a heart attack. “Coordinating senior care in Idaho when you’re based in New Jersey is quite a difficult process,” says Bob. But it wasn’t just a matter of geography. The real problem, he says: Every part of the process was siloed.

That’s when the need became clear to him. Create a one-stop shopping service in which personalized assessment, customized solution, and construction/installation give seniors the independence they need and the opportunity to age in place. And it’s this all-in-one component that sets Bob and John’s offering head and shoulders above many other providers who offer aging in place solutions and services.

Ten thousand boomers are now turning 65 every day and life spans are increasing. As a result, the wants and needs of this aging population have come into universal focus. Much attention is focused on the supports that will enable older people to enjoy quality of life.

Seniors are ready, says Bob. “Increasingly, seniors are accepting the fact that their bodies don’t work like they used to. And, they’re planning beyond their financial future to issues involving where they live and how to ensure the empowerment to age in place.”

Physicians evaluating senior surroundings
According to Bob, a health care industry veteran who has held executive sales management positions in several clinical laboratory service provider organizations, physicians are also of the same mind. He says that physicians and insurance companies are now laser-focused on the social determinants of medicine—which means that they are fully onboard with the fact that health care extends beyond the diagnosis that’s made in the physician’s office to what happens when the patient gets home.

“When a senior leaves the doctor’s office or the hospital, the important question centers on will he or she be able to get in and out of the house, cook their meals and/or take their medicine. “There are these added concerns that now factor into healthcare,” he says.

“Even insurers are understanding,” he adds. For example, back pain now could require preventions and precautions that would make the structure of their social surroundings vital in not only a patients’ immediate recovery but also their well-being long-term.

According to Bob, insurers are starting to reimburse physicians on the value of care they provide the patient and not the sheer volume of tests and procedures. In fact, physicians are evaluated on their attention to social determinants of health, or the entire patient, which includes their home and social surroundings. “Part of the prescription is now sending professionals like Bob and John to provide a complete home safety and mobility assessment.

Physicians and insurers are now focused on overall quality of life. “We [John and I] are an important part of making that quality happen and are an integral part of the support team,” says Bob.

“We are there to help seniors understand mobility and safety issues that concern them today, tomorrow and five years from now.”

Plus, we’re CAPS certified (Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist), CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services) compliant and licensed by the State of New Jersey, he adds. What’s more, we understand the importance of independence among the senior population.

We’re here to help seniors and those with limited mobility prepare for tomorrow—quickly, efficiently and economically.

And, according to Bob, the future looks even brighter. Every day we learn about new adaptive equipment and solutions for the home.

When it comes to independence for older adults and those with limited mobility, safety must be a top concern. Many simple home modifications not only increase safety but provide independence and comfort as well.