Making a Home Senior Friendly
Senior Friendly
A home that may be convenient for people around the ages of 50 to 60 can actually be different when they reach the age of 70 to 80. Eliminating clutter in homes is one of the first tips to consider in making your home senior-friendly, since its one of the solutions in preventing accidents from happening. Adding lighting is another good tip since senior people may need twice as much light to see clearly.
Doing simple makeovers for your home can beneficial for senior people and may prevent unfortunate incidents and can make life easier for them.
Recreating your Bathroom
Increasing safety and accessibility in your bathroom is highly important, since it is used countless times everyday. Not only should it be comfortable and attractive, it should also be safe. Since most accidents may occur in the bathroom than in any other part of the home.
Build roll-in showers with multiple showerheads which are fixed, height adjustable and handheld. When using the shower, make sure that the curtain is not held up by a tension rod, since grabbing it for support may result to a fall, install grab bars for support. Also, place rubber mats inside and outside the shower to avoid slipping and falling.
Lowering the bathroom sink and making sure there is proper knee clearance is also needed. Faucets should also be properly labeled hot and cold, color coding them with red for hot and blue for cold. Make sure that water temperature is set on a setting of 120 degrees or lower since most senior people lose their sensitivity to temperature and may scald themselves.
Install an elevated toilet to help senior people with problems in their leg strength and balance. Add handrails on both sides of the toilet.
Lighting Settings
Older people need more light, they also need light to be evenly distributed since it takes more time for the seniors’ eyes to readjust in the changing light. The lighting should be indirect, aiming it at the ceiling or the walls to prevent glaring.
Installing proper lighting at home can reduce accidents. The outdoor areas, stairs, kitchen and the living room areas are some places where the use of proper lightning is needed. Remodel dark hallways, especially if they lead to the stairs or to brightly lit rooms.
Placing flashlights which can be easily reached and looked for is also needed, check on the batteries every few months. Emergency lights should come on automatically in case of power outage.
Use rocker type switches for your lighting so you can turn them on or off even with your elbows if your hands are full.
Kitchen Needs
The kitchen is another room which can cause physical stress for our seniors. Certain parts of the kitchen are needed to be corrected to ensure safety. Cabinets and drawer handles should be replaced with D-shaped handles since they are more comfortable to grasp especially to people suffering from arthritis. Cabinet shelves should also be sliding or pull out in order to gain access to items efficiently.
When choosing appliances, look for refrigerators of freezers with side by side doors so that everything that is needed can be easily placed on the mid shelf. On the other hand, it is also recommended to use drawer type dishwashers installed in platforms to prevent seniors from bending over.
The kitchen needs to be user-friendly. Ensuring maneuverability and adjusting the heights of countertops can spell the difference.
Aging in Place
Since many senior people prefer to age in place, living in their homes than moving to a nursing home or an assisted facility. The need to make a home senior-friendly is extremely important.
Doing simple remodeling of your home can be at times costly but, the rewards to reap will not only benefit our senior people but everyone at home as well. One floor living arrangements can also be done to lessen the use of stairs.
There are a lot of options that may aid in the welfare of senior living. Consulting home builders for remodeling can be arranged. All it takes is a little innovative designing. Some may consider that remodeling homes can result to higher costs than average but investing on something like this not only promotes safety but quality living as well.
Medicare
Medicare is a government-sponsored program that people over the age of 65 and those who meet their special criteria turn to for their social insurance. This program provides health insurance to a certain age group, normally seniors. Medicare is also partly financed by payroll taxes by the FICA of the Federal Insurance Contributions Act and the Self-Employment Contributions Act of 1954.
What Is Medicare
Medicare is a social insurance programs by the United States. It was initially singed into law by President Lyndon Johnson on July 30, 1965 to make changes to the Social Security legislation. During the first signing of the bill, President Johnson registered former President Harry Truman as the foremost Medicare beneficiary and gave him the first Medicare card.
Medicare is also administered by the CMS or the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, who also provides Medicaid and the SCHIP or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. The department responsible for giving out cost projections and accounting information to the Medicare Board of Trustees in order to help them assess the financial health of the program is the Chief Actuary of CMS. The Board of Trustees, on the other hand, is required by the law to issue yearly reports on the financial status of the Medicare Trust Funds.
Ever since the start of the Medicare program, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have bonded with privately-operated companies to assist with the administration. Often, these contractors are already in the health care or insurance area. The contracting process might involve payment and claims processing, clinician enrollment, call center services and fraud investigation.
What It Does and Does Not Cover
Medicare can provide coverage for nursing care to those who require long-term care. It can cover delivered care by inside skilled nursing facilities for those beneficiaries who require long-term medical treatment. However, Medicare can not actually pay for custodial care, including assistance with bathing, eating and other daily living activities.
Aside from long-term medical care, Medicare can pay for outpatient services that a beneficiary can get at a community mental health center or a hospital under the outpatient prospective payment system. Such outpatient services include emergency room visit, X-rays or radiology, getting a cast, or stitches for a cut.
If you are 65 years older and you go out of the United States, Medicare will not cover any health care expenses you incur outside the country. However, there are rare cases, where Medicare can pay for the inpatient hospital services that you receive in Mexico or Canada. While they may provide you medical care services under special circumstances, it is handy to have a good travel insurance plan when you are planning to go outside the country.
What is Medicare Part A
Originally, the Medicare program has two parts, namely Part A and Part B. There are few cases where the original Medicare covers prescription drugs. However, drug coverage was made possible as of January 2006 due to Medicare Part D.
Medicare Part A is for the Hospital Insurance. The section can cover beneficiaries’ hospital stays, including those in a skilled nursing facility, if definite conditions are met. Firstly, the stay at the hospital must be at least three days, three midnights excluding the discharge date. The stay at the nursing home must also be for a case diagnosed during the hospital stay or for the main reason for the stay.
Also, the care being rendered to the beneficiaries must be skilled, when they are staying at a nursing home. Part A of Medicare does not cover non-skilled or custodial services, including assistance in activities of daily living or ADL.
What is Medicare Part B
For the products and services not covered by Part A, Medicare Part B can help you. Part B of the Medicare program is generally for outpatient services. It is not obligatory and can be postponed if the beneficiary or their spouse is still working actively. More so, a lifetime penalty of 10% per year can be imposed for not taking Part B if not working actively.
Some services included in Medicare Part B are physician services, such as: X-rays, laboratory, nursing services, vaccinations for pneumonia and influenza and diagnostic tests. In addition, Part B can also aid with DME or durable medical equipment, including walkers, mobility scooters, wheelchairs and canes for those patients with mobility impairments.
