April 1999 A Typical American Home The year is 1970. Allen and Rose have just built their new home to accommodate their family consisting of two adults, five boys, one dog, and a fish. When they met with the architect and builder, making their home "senior- friendly" was the last thing on their minds. What they wanted was a house that could handle the demands of 5 boys: ample play room, plenty of hot water, and a large kitchen! The year is 1999. Allen is now retired. The boys have all moved out and have families of their own. Rose has redecorated numerous times over the years; still, making their home "senior-friendly" has not been a top priority. But over the years, normal aging has changed their bodies. Since the changes have taken place slowly, nobody, including Allen and Rose, has really thought about the risk of having an accident in their own home. Yet studies show that falling is the number one reason people enter nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Prevention is the key to healthy living for our physical bodies, so why not for our homes? Home modification can be done at any time, but most often is never done at all. The misconception among the general population is that modifying your home to meet your changing physical needs is an admission that something is wrong. Or that you are giving in to "old age". To the contrary, making a few, simple modifications to ensure safety is just plain smart and cost effective compared to a stay in the hospital for a broken bone. Following are a few things that can be done to make a home "senior-friendly": |