The July/August Issue of the Elder Update is available

The Florida Department of Elder Affairs publishes a bimonthly newsletter, the "Elder Update", for Florida Seniors. The current issue includes articles about:

• New "Living Healthy in Florida" wellness campaign.
•  Elderly Mortgage Assistance Program (ELMORE), which helps senior homeowners with reverse mortgage difficulties.
•  Outsmarting scammers.
•  State Park improvements to increase assessibility. 
• Aging in place.

You can download the current issue here. Alternatively, you can sign up for a print subscription here.

New Research Report on "Aging in Place"

 The Population Reference Bureau has published a report, "Helping Americans Age in Place" about demographic trends in aging. They have summarized findings about the health, economic circumstances, and social well-being of older adults. Here are some of the statistics from this report:

• Among U.S. adults ages 65 and older living outside of institutions, more than one in four report having difficulty with at least one daily activity and receiving no assistance, according to the nationally representative Health and Retirement Study.

• Two nationally representative surveys suggest that more than one in 10 older Americans living outside of institutions are mistreated in some way, most commonly by someone who neglects, verbally abuses, or takes financial advantage of them.

• As many as one in seven Americans ages 71 and older has some type of dementia, according to the first estimates ever made using a nationally representative sample of older adults.

These statistics can be used by community-based social services to address the issues faced by older adults. You can read the entire report here.

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.

Aging in Place

Many people wish to stay in their own homes as they age. However, their homes may need to be remodeled to make them more accessible and safe. For example, grab bars can be added to showers and baths, nonskid flooring can be installed, and round door handles can be replaced with lever-style door handles.

The National Association of Home Builders has a Certified Aging In Place Specialist Program (CAPS) to provide trained specialists to help people to remodel their homes, so that they can remain in their home as they age. For more information about remodeling your home, see the National Association of Home Builders information page on Aging in Place.