[Updated: September 21, 2022 | Published: September 21, 2022]
If you’re like many adults aged 60 and over, you hope to relax and enjoy the comfort of your current home and neighborhood as you grow older – a concept known as “aging in place.”
Yet, there’s a gap between the desire to age in place and the ability to make it happen.
According to AARP research, three in four seniors say they want to remain in their homes for as long as possible. But just 59 percent think they will be able to stay in their community, either in their current home or a different home still within their community.
Our experience shows that even fewer have a plan to keep living at home as their needs change.
5 Considerations for Aging at Home
Here are five important questions to consider if you hope to remain in your current home as you grow older.
By consulting with your loved ones and advisors to answer these questions now, you can create a solid plan to make staying in your home more feasible, enjoyable and worry-free.
Perhaps as important, answering these questions can help you create a contingency plan, just in case things don’t go as you expect.
1. Do you want to remain in control of decisions about your residence and care as you age, or are you comfortable with someone else making the calls?
Creating a plan while you’re relatively healthy can ensure your wishes are carried out in the future even if you can no longer communicate them. A plan also relieves family members of the pressure of making future decisions without knowing your wishes.
2. If you are no longer able to care for yourself, who will help with your day-to-day needs (bathing, dressing, etc.)?
Perhaps you have nearby loved ones who would be willing and able to help. Even if you do, however, you may need to hire a part-time or full-time caregiver to augment their help. And keep in mind your loved ones’ health and availability may change.
3. If you plan to hire in-home caregivers, who will manage the screening/ hiring process and then coordinate the schedule for your care?
You or a loved one may want to coordinate care, or you may rely on professional service providers. Keep in mind that care coordination can take a few to several hours a week, especially if you need to change caregivers or work around their time off for sick leave or vacation.
4. Who will coordinate any emergency care or Hospital Admissions?
Even though you live at home, at some point you may need emergency medical care or to stay at a hospital for a planned surgery. Who will coordinate your care while you are recovering? Will this mean that you need to change in-home caregivers when you return?
5. If you require long-term care, do you want to receive care at home or move to an assisted living community or nursing home? And how will you pay for care?
Chances are high that you will need some kind of long-term care as you age. The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services projects that 70 percent of adults 65 and older will need significant long-term services and supports. Nearly half will need some paid care over their lifetime.
If you need long-term care in the future, where do you want to receive it? And how will you pay for care? The answers to these questions will help you shape your contingency plans.
Redefining Aging at Home
We created Friendship At Home to help Columbus seniors plan for and receive LifeCare in the comfort of their own homes.
This affordable LifeCare At Home program helps you create a plan for living at home, then arranges supportive services if you ever need them.
You can receive up to full Assisted Living and Nursing Home Care levels of care in the comfort of your own home. And, if you ever need care, we pay for it!
Sign up for Our Fall 2022 Educational Seminars
To learn more about planning for a lifetime at home, sign up for our Fall educational series. You’ll get information to help you answer the questions above and more.
Call 614-881-4468 to learn more, RSVP or set up a private consultation.
All seminars take place in the Friendship At Home Offices at 90 South High Street, Suite A, Dublin, Ohio, 43017.
