This article from the Catholic Sentinel discusses Senior Home Renovation and Maintenance programs in Oregon is remarkably similar to my own experience. The origins of Age@Home come from a late night discussion with my mother, Betty, 3000 miles away in Ireland. Now, Betty is 74 years of age, in reasonable health and of very sound mind. After way too many whiskies we started discussing the topic of what she wanted as her age and inevitably declining health progressed. I was surprised by the strength of her answer - 'I want my own doorstep' and the emotion in her voice. So I started studying (like any good Irish Boy/Man who has an engineering degree) to see how we could help . . . and hence we are where we are today and sometime later this year or early next year I'm shipping the crew to Ireland for a week to set them up. Anyway, back to the article, the story is about Brian Bartholomew in Oregon who had a similar awakening with his mother as she moved into a care facility. He too was interested in moving away from corporate life, and started a local Renovation and Maintenance company to assist seniors who want to continue living at home.
In late 2003, they launched their business, which they called In Your Home.Now they have eight employees and a growing list of faithful customers. Last year, In Your Home brought in $700,000 in revenue.Customers are the 50-plus crowd and people who are disabled. Both groups have a fierce desire to remain independent as long as possible. Most get in touch with Bartholomew with a crisis like this — “My husband broke his hip and can’t come home until the bathtub gets revised.” Others are slowly becoming unable to rise from the toilet seat, reach high shelves or read the newspaper with current lighting schemes. For example, lever doorknobs are kinder on arthritic hands. Steps from outside can become gradual cement ramps. The oven door can swing to the side, rather than down. Grab bars can make it easier to use the toilet or get out of the shower. Sliding shelves can make cabinets more usable. Wider doors are better for wheelchairs and walkers. In Your Home can install technology such as automatic door openers, bathtub lifts and devices that allow people to answer a call without going to the phone.
In Your Home can do one job and then be gone, but more often the company becomes an abiding presence. Bartholomew takes photos in houses and keeps meticulous records so that when a customer calls needing a door widened or a ramp added, he knows just what they’re talking about. Some clients keep a list of small fixes needed and get a visit every three months from a worker.
In Your Home is often a comfort for children of seniors, who face the struggle of what to do as parents age. Also, it often turns out to be cheaper to make a senior’s home livable than to move.
Bartholomew says that some Baby Boomers are thinking ahead for themselves, getting their homes ready for the days when they are 80-somethings. He admires those people who have overcome society’s general denial of aging. Everyone, he adds, should consider whether visitors can use their house safely.
So, this is small, but is a good example of the kind of one-time and ongoing support services which can be offered and which clearly have benefit. There are many such organizations springing up around the country, such as one similar to Age@Home in Minnesota and ones where the community is built for boomers to move in and is ready made for Aging in Place in California. On the charitable side there's Rebuilding Together which worked on 8900 homes in 2006 (although it isn't just for seniors) and many government initiatives at federal, state, and local levels.
If you have any other good examples, I'd be interested in hearing - send me a note at steve@age-at-home.com.
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