Successful Aging in Place
Did you know most seniors want to remain in their own home for as long as possible? Despite the growing number of retirement communities, most seniors prefer to remain in their own home. This helps seniors maintain a feeling of independence as well as a sense of security. Wouldn’t you want to stay in your home that you have worked so hard for? To keep an aging loved one in their home for as long as possible, it is important to ask some difficult questions and often accommodations must be made.
Simple additions to improve safety like shower bars and raised toilet seats can make a world of difference to an elder’s well-being, as can evaluating an elder’s home for issues with handicap accessibility.
Home maintenance can be a factor in an elder’s ability to stay at home, especially if your elder loved one is an avid gardener, or DIY aficionado. Setting up services and tapping into community resources to assist with activities like lawn care, housekeeping and home maintenance can help many elders avoid injuries otherwise commonly associated with more physical activities that have become too much for them.
Transportation is another key area to look at. Is your elder still able to drive? Do they get lost easily? As they age it can become important for elders to access community transportation services or have a relative drive for them.
Emergency Planning is possibly the most important resource to have in place in order to keep an elder in their home. For many elders this means having a Personal Emergency Response Systems, while others may have relatives or neighbors who can check on them regularly.
This month be sure to register and attend the webinar,
“What to Look Out for As Our Loved Ones Age” Learn more about the challenges of aging, and some of the options for caring for our aging loved ones. A full description and registration information is listed in the sidebar to the right. If you’re unable to attend you can log on to the website at a later time to view the archived presentation.
MONTHLY WEBINAR
Wednesday, February 21st
WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR AS OUR LOVED ONES AGE
Those of us who have senior loved ones in our lives want to be sure they are well cared for. This webinar will address some of the challenges elders face as they age, and solutions that we, as caregivers, can put into place from near or afar. We will discuss common eldercare issues and which eldercare systems can best address these concerns.
TO REGISTER:
– Select the time
– Or – click on “Upcoming Webinars” from the homepage of the website and follow the easy instructions
Unable to make it to the scheduled webinars?
We have them archived for your convenience. Log onto the website and click on E4 University at the bottom of the home page, then click on Webinars to search by webinar title.
e4health administers the College’s EFAP program. To access their comprehensive web site, with many tools and articles, go to the e4health web site.
Username: middlebury college
Password: guest
Or call them at: 800-828-6025
(phones are answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week)