August 15,2005

The newsletter for all elder caregivers. Sent twice a month, and only by request. You are welcome to pass on Elder CareTips™ to anyone you think might be interested. You'll find information about how to get your personal subscription below.

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Aging in Place - It's A Whole Lot More Than A Buzzword

We do it for our children without even giving it much thought. When a new baby arrives (even long before a baby arrives) we spend months getting our home ready. We buy a special bed, we "safety proof" the cabinets and the outlets, we buy monitors. We try to keep the environment safe for the developmental stage of the child, making changes as he grows. First we worry about how clean the floor is, then we put the plants and the breakable items up high. Before we know it, the whole house has been modified in one way or another.

Then when the children are older we stop thinking about it and the house slowly reverts to "grown-up."

But our physical abilities don't stop changing as we mature. Sure, they'll stay more or less the same for several decades if we're lucky. But then, inevitably, we'll begin to notice a little twinge here or there. Our balance won't be quite as good as it once was. We may need a bit more light to see what we're reading (if our arms are long enough to see it at all).

And bit by bit, the house we call home isn't quite as user-friendly as it once was.

Just about every older person I've ever talked with wants to stay at home. And for most, staying at home can be the most economical choice, too. Assisted living can cost $3,000 to upwards of $6,000 a month, depending on the part of the country you live in. Nursing homes are a whole lot more expensive. If you invest less than the cost of one month of assisted living you can possibly buy extra months or years of living at home.

Every now and then over the next several months I plan to address some of the simple changes you can make to a home to keep it senior-friendly and safe. Bathroom safety and getting the throw rugs up have been talked to death, so I will leave those alone for the time being. There are so many other things you can do that don't cost a fortune and will add an amazing amount of comfort and safety to a home.

Today's topic is Electricity...

Isn't running the vacuum fun? You just get up a good head of steam and you run out of cord. So you give the cord a good yank to pull it out of the wall outlet (you know you do...even though you know you're not supposed to) and you stoop down to plug it in to another outlet. And you do this three or four times to get around the area you're trying to clean.

Whoever decided that wall outlets should be four inches off the floor must have been a kid, since they're the only ones who can reach them without a struggle. And we know about kids and outlets - we spent a lot of time and aggravation child-proofing them, didn't we?

If you're having some pain in your hips or back, or your balance isn't what it was, stooping down to those outlets is painful or even dangerous. Imagine how much easier it would be to plug and unplug if the outlets were at waist level or higher. Just think, you could move a lamp over to that bookcase without having to take out all the books to get at the plug. The possibilities are endless.

A good electrician can add waist-level outlets to a home at a very reasonable cost. You don't have to remove the outlets that are already there - just tap into them and add new ones at 30 to 40 inches from the floor, depending on how tall you are. Put them in all the rooms, and put in a couple more than you think you need. They'll get used.

And while the electrician is at it, have him put rocker switches on the walls instead of those little on/off flippers. It's a lot easier to hit a rocker switch than that little flipper thing. And if he's already in the wall installing a rocker switch, have him put in a plug outlet below it at the same time. You can never have too many places to plug things in.

Do this before you need to. Once someone has fallen or had a back go out reaching down to the floor home will never feel as safe again.

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By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.

Benjamin Franklin

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Elder CareTip

Often people with ailments like Parkinson's Disease or one of the many dementias get to the point where they have trouble using utensils to eat. Rather than trying to remind them or help them use a spoon or a fork, try finger foods. It's much less frustrating for everyone.

Try chicken fingers, cubed beef or ham, sandwiches cut in quarters or bite size, cheese cubes, oven baked french fries or hush puppies, cooled steamed vegetables, etc. One or two pieces of dried fruit can give a real taste explosion and perk up appetites, too. Just never more than one or two pieces or you may be sorry.

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If you've got a Reader Tip you'd like to share, please send it to molly@eldercareteam.com with the subject line "Care Tip."

Let me know if I can use your name. Or if you'd rather have me leave your name off, that's OK, too.

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Kids' Letters to God:

Dear God,
I am doing the best I can.
Really !!!!
Frank

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Watch those school zones. In my part of the world school started today for most kids (some started last week, poor things). Whatever happened to summer vacation, anyway?

I heard on the news this morning that in one of our more upscale suburbs the school zone police were giving out speeding tickets left and right . . . to teachers who were late for school.

'Till next time,

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