Aging in Place Tech Makes Aging at Home Attainable

Making the decision to Age at Home, or Age in Place, means investing time and money into your home. It's an investment worth making to ensure your lifestyle and your preferences continue as you get older. But according to a Washington Post piece, technology has graciously caught up with some specific aging in place needs, making it just a little bit easier and a little bit less expensive to age at home.

Sensors are available that detect movement in the house, letting you or a loved one know that you're okay. Prescription medications can be monitored and properly dispensed with a smart pill counter. Healthcare in general is easier with doctors on call through face time and the like via computer. Security is maintained with smart home technology, keeping us safe from would-be intruders. Electricity, home comforts like air conditioning and heat, appliances, and water can all be managed with smart home tech as well, allowing for hands-free living. 

We all remember the "I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up" commercial, but falls are an extremely common, potentially life-threatening (and certainly lifestyle changing) issue in senior homes, and the sooner medical care can find you and assist, the better. Wearable tech can alert emergency services immediately and ensure you're well on your way to receiving help.

Bottom line: aging at home means more than just building and construction changes -- it means making sure your space is set up to keep you safe and comfortable, and technology can be a big part of that. 

You Have Options: Aging Independently, Safely, at Home

We recently encountered some scary DIY wiring on an old home in one of our favorite historic neighborhoods. Wiring that's been installed incorrectly or is simply old and decaying poses a serious security risk to you, your home, your loved ones. And it's just one of the issues in older homes that needs to be addressed by a professional, whether you're looking to sell and downsize or age in place in your current home. But here's the thing: aging at home, or aging in place, does not mean you are bound to one home, forever, until the end of your days. You have loads of options.

Old wiring that's hidden behind drywall is downright dangerous.

Choosing to Age at Home (or Age in Place) doesn't necessarily translate to planting roots in one home, no matter what, till the end of your days. Instead, making the choice to Age at Home means you are quite likely to choose to downsize to a more manageable space -- one that's designed with your needs now and in the future in mind. Making that move affordable can mean building a tiny home, it can mean renovating your existing space so the first level is accessible and can be an entire living space for you (and your significant other, if applicable), or it can mean simply moving into a smaller house that's ripe and ready for Universal Design renovation.

The bottom line is that you have a lot of options to determine what kind of living space is best suited to your financial and personal needs and goals, and Aging at Home does not mean you are bound forever to one large house that's too much for you to manage. Consider safety, for yourself and our loved ones, now and later, first. 

Regardless of what size home you choose, it's imperative that you communicate with certified professionals to ensure the home is safe and sound for you to live in. Consult with an expert in the construction field who's experienced with making homes aging-in-place ready (preferably CAPS certified). If you realize you're in a home that's just got too much work to make it right at this point in your life, reach out to us or someone else who's educated themselves on how best to serve the housing needs (and more) of the 55+ generation (Plan with Foresight is a great place to start).