Aging in Place

Home Safety

Fall prevention is a very high priority as we age. Each year, one out of four older adults in the United States will experience a fall. Over 300,000 will be hospitalized with a hip fracture. Half of those will not be able to return home to live independently. We can arrange for a home safety evaluation to determine simple modifications to greatly reduce the risk of a fall. If it turns out that you need to remodel a bathroom or create a single-floor living situation, we can help you find a highly qualified professionals who specialize in this area.

Similarly, older adults are thirteen times more vulnerable to property crime than are their younger counterparts. We can work with you to install the latest technology to protect you and your belongings. And we can teach you about daily life precautions that will reduce the chance of intrusion.

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Transportation

According to the American Automobile Association, the average adult outlives their ability to drive safely by seven to ten years. This means that you need to be ready with transportation alternatives so you can stay engaged with the activities that bring meaning to your life. Even if you already take public transportation or use Lyft or Uber, there may come a time when these options are more difficult to use. We’ve got you! Let us connect you with services specifically developed to help older adults easily get to where they need to go. You do not want to be isolated because of transportation challenges.

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Loneliness and Social Isolation

A significant drawback to aging in place is the loneliness and isolation that occurs over time. Friends die or move away. Transportation becomes difficult. Your own health challenges may make it harder to engage in social activities that bring you joy. Depression is common in older adults precisely because they become isolated so easily. Beyond quality of life and mental health concerns, isolation has also been shown to dramatically impact physical health with harm equivalent to smoking fifteen cigarettes a day.

From companion services to go to the museum, to online or in-person classes, we talk with you in depth about your interests and priorities and arrange to remove barriers and facilitate outings. We can bring in tech experts to enable you to join Zoom meetings so you can connect to loved ones whether they live close or far away. They can also set up a digital assistant such as Alexa. Remaining at home does not have to be a lonely experience. But you do need to make a plan to be sure you stay socially connected and engaged.

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Care Coordination

It is entirely possible to live safely and comfortably at home as you age in place, but it will require services to support you should common activities become more difficult.

• Meal services. We can arrange for meal delivery of fresh food to the home, or even a chef who cooks a week’s worth of meals in your home, to order.
• Errands. From home care aides to delivery services, we make sure your household runs smoothly and you get to where you need to go.
• Bill paying. There may come a time when managing your daily and monthly finances becomes a challenge you no longer wish to manage on your own. Among our network of professionals, we can recommend certified and bonded money managers who can balance the checkbook, pay bills, and give you a monthly report about your income and expenses. They can also serve as watchdogs to make sure you are not being sent duplicate bills and that safeguards are in place to reduce the chance of identity theft.
• Home maintenance and yardwork. As your body ages, so does your home! There will come a time when getting on ladders to clean gutters or even to change a lightbulb, is no longer a good idea. Again, we work with bonded and certified home repair specialists who can keep your home functioning well and make sure it does not lose its value due to deferred maintenance. Similarly, we can arrange for yard maintenance so your landscaping stays fresh and healthy.
• Medical advocacy. Taking you to the doctor, helping you implement treatment plans, organizing your pills, refilling prescriptions, coordinating specialists: These are just some of the services that will help you maintain optimal health and wellness and enable you to live safely at home.
• Personal care. There comes a time in most people’s lives when they need help with intimate tasks such as bathing, dressing, grooming, and even using the toilet. We work with home care services (agencies and registries) to bring you skilled, kind, and discrete at-home caregivers who know how to protect modesty and support dignity.
• End of life. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, 71% of Americans wish to die at home when the time comes. Of course! We can ensure that you have the care you need, from hospice for your medical issues and supplies, to 24-hour home care if required for your physical and emotional support. We even arrange for emotional support for your family members as they come to terms with their own grief and loss.

Care Collective manages all these services. We ensure accountability and oversight so you can rest assured that all your affairs are coordinated in a seamless way that reflects your values and priorities. You will be able to age in place in comfort and with all the resources you need available to you.

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For Those Without Relatives Available to Help

Our job is to walk with you through every challenge, all the way to the end. No one dies alone. In addition to all the above services, if you don’t have younger relatives to assist you, we can help you make legal arrangements for health care and for financial decision makers should you become unable to make decisions yourself.

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For People Living with Dementia (Cognitive Impairment)

If aging in place is a priority for a member of your family but you are concerned about their cognitive ability to manage daily life, give us a call. We can do an assessment to give you a sense of where they need support now, and likely what they will need in the future. We can coordinate all the services described above and report to you periodically about how things are going and any new services we think should be put in place.

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