Traditionally aging in place refereed to staying in one’s own home while maintaining a high quality of life. We have now broken out the terms into aging in place, and aging at home. It may sound simple enough, aging in place is aging in a non-healthcare environment, and aging at home is staying put and caring for yourself. It isn’t really that simple, and there are some major challenges that come into place when trying to decide which is right for your loved one.

Your Physical Health

Though most people prefer to deny it, as we grow old our bodies grow weaker. Tasks that once were easy for us can become increasingly difficult. Aging at home may mean that your loved one’s house will require modifications, wheelchair access, wider door frames, grab bars, and other major changes. These can become costly, and with the possible addition of a live in or visiting caregiver, you may want to consider a more cost effective alternative that has already provided everything they need as their physical health changes.

Emergency Situations

When aging at home it is always important to consider if there were to be an emergency. Should your loved one need emergency care, is there someone nearby that can help them get it, or would they be able to get help on their own? Without having help close by there are a lot of unanswered questions about what can happen in different types of emergencies. There’s a great deal of Peace of mind that comes with Aging in place and knowing that help is always on-site.

Everyday Tasks

When it comes to Aging at home you will need to remember that your loved ones will still have to take out the trash, prepare meals, vacuum the floor, and drive themselves to and from appointments. For most of the Aging community these daily tasks start to become difficult and tiresome, some even impossible, like cleaning gutters. What about personal tasks, like taking a bath and washing your hair, how easy will it be for them to do this on their own, will they do it as often as they should. Aging in place means having a staff taking care of all of their needs, some many services, like hairdressers and dentists, can be brought right to them. Travel will be taken care of and your loved ones can focus on feeling cared for, not cleaning.

Social Life

Many retired and aging people find that they can easily become bored at home alone, especially if they are living without a companion. Their friend circle has probably diminished as their connections move on themselves. This is where aging in place really shines, it’s built on community, and the opportunities for your loved ones to make friends and join activities if they want to is endless. Remaining active can also make a huge impact on your mental and physical health and is a major part of aging in place.

At Kenwood we understand the challenges of aging at home, and are able to help you understand the remarkable difference that quality personal, custodial, nutritional, and medical care on-site can make. Each resident has individual needs and wants and we make providing them with a safe and home-like environment a top priority. View our aging in place services and contact us for more information.