Plan Ahead for "Aging in Place"

The MetLife Mature Market Institute has published a report called "Aging in Place 2.0: Rethinking Solutions to the Home Care Challenge".  "Aging in Place" means using care services to stay in your own home as you age, rather than using institutional care. This report provides a model which "... promises to use integrated home design, tools, equipment, services, and technologies to house and care for more people less expensively, more efficiently, and with more dignity" (p.4).  Aspects of the model include:

• technology (devices and sensors to connect the older adult with the outside world) - such as emergency response systems and tele-health.
• community resources - social support such as Senior Centers and Adult Day Care Centers.
• transportation for older people who can no longer drive
• modifying the home so that it is safer and more senior-friendly.

The report then describes specific home modifications which can help people to "Age in Place".  It also gives a range of expected costs for these modifications.  It is a very  useful primer on how to prepare your home and how much it may cost.  Please click here for the full report.

MetLife has also published  a supplement to this report, called the "Aging in Place Workbook: Your Home as a Care Setting".  This workbook has worksheets to help individuals and/or their caregivers to plan every aspect of "aging in place".  This is an excellent planning tool and you can download it here.