Innovative Building and Remodeling Solutions
for Independent Living

Before reading today’s blog, we’re happy to announce that for those of you who are on Twitter and want to stay on top of all the latest happenings with Home Evolutions, you can follow the Home Evolutions Blog on Twitter as well. Each time we post a blog post here, it automatically gets tweeted to Twitter. When we’re not busy posting blog posts, we’ll be tweeting about aging-in-place topics. So be sure to follow us on Twitter!

My hometown newspaper, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, reported Friday that $27 million in federal stimulus money will go to the Pittsburgh Housing Authority under an improvement program to help seniors and people with disabilities age in place.

Around $17 million will be used to improve the accessibility of 67 apartments by widening doors and hallways, reduce outdoor slopes to a 2 percent grade, remove steps, add rails, and lower cabinets. Another $2 million go towards the construction of eight new, accessible homes on authority-owned land in five neighborhoods.

According to Authority Executive Director A. Fulton Meachem Jr., the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development has ordered the authority to make 5 percent of its units accessible, and the stimulus money allows it to finish the long-running 200-unit effort without borrowing more money.

The rest of the authority’s stimulus money will pay for other improvements and cover $1.2 million in costs and fees and $2.7 million for administration.

The Post-Gazette added that the terms of the $787 billion federal stimulus package, the authority must have the money obligated within a year, must spend 60 percent of it within two years and must spend it all within three years.

The authority will list all stimulus-paid activities and contracts on its Web site so the public can see how the money is spent.

Don’t forget that through May 31, Home Evolutions is offering a free in-home assessment. Although we serve most counties in Western Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, this limited time offer is currently available only to residences within Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. If you, or someone you know, are interested in this free, limited time offer, please fill out our contact form today and one of our representatives will be in touch to schedule a convenient time to visit you in your home.

Want to learn more about accessibility options that you can make to your home? This is one of the many topics that we can come and speak to your organization or group about. We’re available to conduct a seminar or presentation at no charge on any Aging-in-Place topic you may be interested in. Contact us today to set up an appointment.

We are pleased to announce the release of the spring edition of The Forever Home, our quarterly e-newsletter which provides insightful information, valuable advice, and helpful tips about aging-in-place.

In this newest issue, you can read about how the current mortgage and housing crisis may actually be inadvertently advancing the Aging-in-Place Movement. With houses being harder to sell and as seniors have less retirement funds and security due to a volatile stock market; keeping one’s home, modifying it, and remaining there may be the most sensible and affordable option for seniors. Some explanation of related terms and things to think about when considering aging-in-place are also discussed.

Plus, a universal design house in Colorado is profiled along with the home’s designer and resident, Cynthia Leibrock. She is a Harvard instructor who has built her home with a myriad of aging-in-place options and functions just in case she or her husband would ever need them. The unique aspect of the house is that it is both functional and beautiful. In fact, Leibrock uses her home as a live-in teaching and marketing promotional tool for universal design and the Aging-in-Place Movement.

Then there’s the recent aging-in-place case-study featuring Bob and Jen Mankowski of Pittsburgh. Learn about how Home Evolutions assessed a house they were planning to purchase and how the remodeling company influenced their decision and alleviated their uncertainties about home customization. See what innovative modifications Home Evolutions suggested and provided for them. It’s a wonderful story about how the company helped Bob and Jen find and modify a dream house where they can now plan to remain living comfortably, safely, and independently for many years to come!

Finally, to complement this issue’s piece on the Leibrock house, check out our summary of AARP’s extensive definition, explanation, and exploration of universal design.

We hope that you enjoy reading this issue as much as we enjoyed putting it together for you! As always, please feel free to forward our newsletter to your friends and families. We also invite you to email us at hburns@homeevolutions.com with your comments, suggestions, and any story ideas that would help The Forever Home address your interests and better meet your specific needs.

If you haven’t already heard, now through May 31, as part of our outstanding service to our customers, Home Evolutions is offering a free in-home assessment. We’ll conduct a thorough evaluation of your current lifestyle and home to identify what can make your home safer and more accessible. Please note:  This limited-time offer is currently available only to residences within Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

If you, or someone you know, are interested in this free, limited-time offer, please fill out our contact form today and one of our representatives will be in touch to schedule a convenient time to visit you in your home.

By reading our weekly blog, you already know that universal design features and products make a home safer and more comfortable for a wide range of people. You can create a safe home for everyone, regardless of age, size, or ability. Universal design is meant to fit everyone and every lifestyle including:

•  Families with young children;
•  Seniors who want to stay in their home as they grow older;
•  People who are taller or shorter than average;
•  People who have limited mobility or dexterity;
•  People with a permanent or temporary disability.

Universal design concepts are present in all of Home Evolution’s modifications. These concepts call for all living environments to be accessible and usable by all people regardless of their age or physical ability level. In addition to making your home more adaptable to your needs, these modifications are seamlessly integrated into the design of your home. Having universal design features and products in a home prevents accidents, increases comfort and safety, and enhances residents’ independence.

In the next issue of The Forever Home newsletter—available next week—we discuss some of the essential universal design features.

Universal design is also one of the many topics that we can come and speak to your organization or group about. We’re available to conduct a seminar or presentation at no charge on any Aging-in-Place topic you may be interested in. Contact us today to set up an appointment.

Now, for a limited time, Home Evolutions is offering a free Quality of Life and Home Safety Checklist. Please fill out the information on this form to receive your free 63 point quality of life and home safety checklist. After submitting the form, a PDF of the checklist will be emailed to you.

Companies like Home Evolutions offer seniors and people with disabilities the choice of remaining in their homes and living comfortably, safely, and independently.

Because of the increasing number of people who want to age-in-place and a growing interest in the aging-in-place movement, additional independent-living options are becoming more and more available to meet this demand.

One such option is TigerPlace, which is a group of residential apartments for active seniors. This privately-run facility is the result of collaborations between the University of Missouri’s Sinclair School of Nursing and Americare, a national healthcare agency.

TigerPlace is one of four pilot, aging-in-place sites that are approved by the State of Missouri. The purpose of the program is to create innovative approaches that combine gracious retirement living with flexible health-care services. The services offered by TigerPlace can change with each resident’s specific needs and adjust accordingly to continue allowing them to age-in-place.

Nursing services are also provided by the staff of Senior Care, a practice of the Sinclair School of Nursing. In addition, the facility features walking trails, gardens, professionally designed living spaces, and new technologies. For example, the apartments are equipped with a wireless communication system, as well as devices that are designed to detect if someone has fallen.

TigerPlace incorporates graduate and undergraduate students from nearly all of the University’s schools and colleges into its daily activities. In fact, nursing students are present for health care, agriculture students assist with the landscaping, and business and engineering students collaborate to create and market innovative technology suited for seniors and people with disabilities.

Whether it be living in a customized and specialized apartment complex like TigerPlace or utilizing the remodeling programs and expertise of a company like Home Evolutions, today, the opportunities and options that can allow you to remain living comfortably in your own home abound.

Take the next step toward your independent future. Now through May 31, as part of our outstanding service to our customers, Home Evolutions is offering a free in-home assessment. We’ll conduct a thorough evaluation of your current lifestyle and home to identify what can make your home safer and more accessible. Please note:  This limited time offer is currently available only to residences within Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.

If you, or someone you know, are interested in this free, limited time offer, please fill out our contact form today and one of our representatives will be in touch to schedule a convenient time to visit you in your home.

What are some other companies and organizations you know of that can give you or your loved ones even more aging-in-place options?

This morning, I came across this article in the Cincinnati Enquirer. The columnist talks about a retired transport pilot, Jack Meade, who is now using Aging-in-Place services to allow him to continue living safe, comfortable and independent in his home.

A home health aide visits him daily, does his laundry, makes his grocery list and makes sure his cat, Solo, is taken care of. Later in the afternoon, a Meals-on-Wheels volunteer delivers his evening meal and then Meade, with a bad back and other health problems, will retire to his rented motorized hospital bed. These in-home care services are provided by the Hamilton County Elderly Services Program.

According to the article, Ohio taxpayers are saving millions in healthcare savings. The state now spends $2.5 billion annually in Medicaid funds to keep 54,700 elderly and citizens with disabilities in nursing homes, only a portion of whom actually need such specialized services. The Ohio Business Roundtable projects a $900 million savings if Ohio moves from one of the top spenders on long-term care to the middle of the pack. Aging-in-Place services will help them accomplish that.

Aging-in-Place, as the article points out, also allows seniors like Jack Meade to hold on to his memories as well.

“Each day he awakens with model C-46 and Ryan ST aircraft suspended from his ceiling, photos of famous aviators lining his walls and a giant propeller hovering over his dinner table - souvenirs he couldn’t crowd into a smaller space.”

It also means privacy and flexibility, the author notes. “He can occasionally puff on a pipe, keep his own schedule and indulge his best friend, Solo. It’s an antidote to loneliness and isolation. His aide Linda provides friendship as well as help with housekeeping. And the Elderly Services Program provides medical equipment when he needs it and removes it as soon as he doesn’t.”

Home Evolutions provides customized, high-quality building and remodeling services for people with disabilities and seniors wishing to maintain their independence. Now through May 31, as part of our outstanding service to our customers, we are offering a free in-home assessment, a valuable tool in planning to remain safe, comfortable, and independent in your home. We’ll conduct a thorough assessment of your current lifestyle and home to identify what can make your home safer and more accessible.

Although we serve most counties in Western Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, this limited time offer is currently available only to residences within Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. If you, or someone you know, are interested in this free, limited time offer, please fill out our contact form today and one of our representatives will be in touch to schedule a convenient time to visit you in your home.