Benefits to Aging in Place for Seniors that Want to Stay at Home
The following list is the top 10 benefits of aging in place for seniors seeking to thrive and avoid nursing home life in their golden years. Aging in place is a lifestyle decision by seniors. Live your best life every day and stay connected with the people that bring you joy.
- Comfort of Home
- Family
- Pets
- Social Engagement in Community
- Financial Cost Savings
- Dignity
- Independence
- Existing Care Providers & Professionals
- Slow Advancement of Memory Loss
- Nothing Replaces Feeling at Home
Family caregivers are in the position to provide amazing assistance to their loved ones ability to age in place. Learn how to prevent falls for seniors and create a safe home that they will be able to successfully live in for many years to come.
1. Comfort of Home
The comfort of home is hard to beat. According to a study by AARP 90% of people age 65 and over would prefer to stay in their own homes as they get older and not go to a nursing home or assisted living facility. Aging in place seniors needs a safe and secure home. It is very straightforward to retrofit a home for senior living. On the contrary, finding a new place to live is much harder. Don’t give up on the family home if the original design and layout are not optimal today. A home remodeled with aging in place in mind reduces fall risks, which is a leading cause of senior hospitalizations, hip & knee replacements, and even death. It’s true, falls kill many seniors every year. However, a little planning can make aging in place safe and secure.
2. Family
An affordable senior living community is often far away from family members. As long as you already live close to one another this is a major issue to consider. Individuals even with the best intentions to visit regularly will have things happen from time to time disrupting trips to visit. As a result, there will be fewer personal interactions with the people that are loved the most Staying in close proximity by aging in place keeps the close personal contact with loved ones that we all need to be in good mental health. The family home is where family traditions are made and kept and place of gathering. Aging in place allows those traditions to continue and be remembered.
3. Pets
Moving to a senior living community whether it is an independent living, assisted living or a more critical level of care at a nursing facility may mean having pets adopted by family, friends, or someone in your community. Different communities have different rules regarding the types and sizes of pets that are allowed on the property. Aging in place means grandma can keep her cockatoo or cocker spaniel that barks at everything, but she loves and adores it.
4. Social Engagement in Community
Social engagement is critical for seniors. When you stay in the home and community that you have lived in you have multiple established connections. Social engagements come from many different sources including neighbors and friends, and professionals that you do business with like the local hair salon or a bible study group at church. Uprooting to move to a new place for living your last 10 to 30 years of your life means starting new relationships with people for everything.
5. Financial Cost Savings
Aging in place is significantly less expensive than the alternatives of senior independent living communities, assisted living, or nursing care facilities. It is not unreasonable to pay $3,500 to $10,000 per month for a decent professional-run facility depending on the amenities and level of caregiving and nursing services. Aging-in-place solutions are like small upfront payments that pay you back in years of enjoyable life because you didn’t blow your hip out stepping out of the shower without a nonslip bath mat and grab bar. Little things can go a long way in saving money today so that if needed later in life the resources are available to go to a decent facility. There are always cheaper options and solutions, but avoiding the budget senior living facilities should be the goal.
6. Dignity
There is a real sense of pride and dignity in being able to care for oneself. It does not mean that as you age you can’t rely upon others for help and assistance, but aging in place puts the senior in the driver seat of daily life decisions which is empowering for many individuals.
7. Independence
Maintaining independence is important as you age. There are many things that are out of our control in our lives, but where we choose to rest at night is one of the last things that people are ready to give up and delegate to others. Choosing an aging-in-place lifestyle according to research by the University of Missouri Columbia can help preserve a senior’s independence. Therefore, hire the best help you can get so you can stay in the comfort of home for as long as possible and remain in control of your living environment.
8. Existing Care Providers & Professionals
Do you have a favorite doctor, local pharmacy, hair stylist, or nail salon? The likelihood that you can move to a senior community and keep all the wonderful people in your life is slim to none. The travel distances may become too far, the community bus might not go on the route necessary to visit, and it may become necessary to use “approved vendors” that will be onsite at the facility because no one will help coordinate services with outside providers for you.
9. Slow Advancement of Memory Loss
There are several ways to maintain and improve memory. Coincidentally, several key items are enhanced through living at home and not uprooting to move into a care facility far away from friends, family, and familiar places. Ways to support memory for seniors include socialization, staying active and exercising, receiving good clinical care, keeping a sense of self-control and confidence, and more.
10. Nothing Replaces Feeling at Home
There is no place like home. You can bring family photos, treasured trinkets, and the rest of the living room into a senior living apartment, but it will never have the same feeling as home.
Many more Benefits to Aging in Place for Seniors
There are many more benefits to aging in place for seniors. At the end of the day, each individual needs to weigh the pros and cons for themselves and decide when the right time to seek an alternative living situation. However, if you are like the 90% of Americans, the likelihood that you want to end up in “the home” early in retirement is very small. Therefore, let’s start maximizing the services and home environment to avoid the pitfalls of aging many seniors fall into.