Mobility - So, You Want to Stay in Your Home!

Article submitted by Holly Langlois of Mobility Specialists, Inc.
For more information, she can be reached at 504-832-1885.

It is a given that most senior citizens prefer to stay in their homes and not move to a retirement home of any sort. One of the main reasons people consider moving to a nursing home or an assisted living community is that their house has obstacles that prohibit movement. Say, an individual finds himself in a wheelchair and like so many houses in New Orleans, his house is a raised cottage. The task before him is how to get the wheelchair up those steps to the front door, or maybe the doorway to his bathroom is too narrow for the wheelchair to navigate.

Another common problem may be that while visiting your mom, you discover that she has not been bathing as often as she used to, not because she does not want to, but because she can no longer maneuver getting in and out of the tub. She does not feel safe. She is afraid she might fall or that she might not be able to get up by herself. There are many physical challenges that crop up as we age in place in our homes. What to do?

Home modifications are a simple solution, and home medical equipment companies are addressing this need by putting a carpenter on the payroll who is familiar with the American With Disabilities Act as well as local construction codes. Retrofitting a house for the mobility-impaired is an attractive and oftentimes affordable alternative to nursing home placement. Senior citizens get to stay in their homes by the simple construction of a ramp, the widening of a doorway, or the installation of grab bars, lifts, or showers where tubs once were, etc.

The costs of construction are usually private pay, however Medicaid does have a waiver program for those individuals who qualify.