In our work, I often hear from seniors, “I want to stay in my own home.” The good news is, with the right help, you might be able to do just that. Staying in your own home as you get older is called aging in place.
Aging in place is a growing lifestyle option for seniors approaching or beyond the retirement age. It facilitates remaining in the home of your choice for as long as you can safely and affordably, opposed to relocating to a senior care or other medical facility. Aging in Place has become possible because many of the services you need to live a secure and safe life are now available in your own home.
To successfully age in place requires planning and support. In our work, we often get calls about seniors who are in crisis, who have lost their ability to live in their home because they did not have a plan for aging. Planning is hard for seniors because they don’t know how their needs might change. Everyone has a different situation.
At IKOR, we’re highly skilled at helping people plan for aging. We call it aging in place with a plan.
We have helped hundreds of clients work through complicated concerns caused by a lack of understanding and a lack of planning. We are very aware of where most of the minefields are located in aging at home. One of the ways we begin planning is to look at any chronic illness like diabetes or emphysema, that you or your spouse might have. Our IKOR registered nurse patient advocates know these health problems could make it hard for someone to get around or care for themselves in the future.
As we’ve discussed in other videos, the aging process evolves through five phases: independence, interdependence, dependency, crisis management, and end of life. The difficult part of understanding these phases is that the transitions from one phase to the next is a progression. And it’s often very subtle. A family member who lives at a distance can visit in the spring, and by the holidays, they can notice a significant decline in functioning of a beloved family member who’s living alone without a plan.
As aging life care professionals, formerly called geriatric care managers, we get most of our calls in the crisis management phase, and it is heartbreaking. Seniors often lose dignity and independence because of crises. And it is far more expensive and complicated for us to resolve crisis situations when our clients have not maintained several areas of their life.
Aging in place with a plan includes understanding, housing and home maintenance, safety and security, health and wellness, personal finance, transportation, community and social interactions as well as entertainment.
At IKOR, we help you plan for and support you as you age in all areas of life. We’ve even recently created a new program called solutions for dignity home maintenance program specifically designed to monitor a seniors residence for routine maintenance areas or unsafe housing conditions, as well as the structural integrity of their home. This program offers affordable customized quarterly, and monthly service packages and additional add on services.
We take the hassle out of this process by managing everything for you. Just tell us which service you would like from a long list of options and we’ll help you handle the details.
If you’re interested in learning more about how to age in place with a plan or the solutions for dignity home maintenance program, you can contact us toll free at 855-456-7972 or visit our website at www.ikorofwpa.com.