Aging-in-Place (AIP), at it’s most basic meaning, is the ability to remain in your own home as you grow older.  Recent surveys show that approximately 80% of people over the age of 50 want to remain in their own homes as they age.  

Staying in a familiar home and neighborhood offers several benefits:

• Selling a home and moving is difficult…and can be expensive
• Familiarity with local shopping, entertainment, personal services
• Relationships with neighbors 
• Established medical care
• Enhanced feeling of safety and comfort

There are also downsides to residing in “congregate” living:

• Lack of privacy
• Lack of control and independence
• Social isolation
• Quality of care
• COVID-19

Do any of these strike a chord?  They do for many.

If you aren’t seeing or feeling the effects of aging, you probably will.   We almost all do.  A few of the biggest concerns most people face as they age include:

• Mobility
• Falls (1 in 4 older adults fall every year leading to 36,000 deaths and 3 million ER visits)
• Cognitive or Memory Issues
• Self-care
• Sensory Issues (vision, hearing, touch)

Nearly 27% of adults in the United States have some form of disability.  These disabilities only become more difficult to navigate as we age.  

AIP is broken into three primary segments:

• Those with traumatic changes (examples include  injuries, stroke, surgeries, etc.).  This group needs immediate solutions to their new and often unplanned challenges.
• Those with progressive conditions.  This group is aware of challenges they will be facing in the future.  Examples include Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, etc.
• Those without urgent needs.  This group either is not experiencing challenges associated with aging (YET!) or have adapted to those challenges.

Those in the first two categories know that they will either have to relocate to a facility that offers care for these challenges or make adaptations to their current home so they can remain there for the long term.

So what does this mean for you?  In our next blog post we will start the process of showing how to balance safety and accessibility with your ability to age gracefully and independently in your own home.

Future issues will include:

• Communicating your desires effectively with family members and caregivers
• Financial benefits of AIP vs. assisted living or nursing homes
• Balancing functionality with beauty when preparing your home for AIP
• Support available to the aging community

We will also share some of the work TL Jackson has done to help people stay in their homes.  

If you have questions about AIP, please contact Kevin Haines at kevinh@tljackson.com or (574) 527-3224.