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A press release issued last week out of Washington, D.C., identifies strategies designed to ensure that affordable, accessible housing connected to vital services will be available for older adults in the future. According to trends, this group is expected to grow by 30% in the next 20 years alone.

Ensuring that the nation’s housing stock is affordable, accessible, and connected to essential services is key to meeting the rapidly growing housing needs of America’s over 50 population. A new report released last week by AARP’s Public Policy Institute and authored by the Center for Housing Policy, entitled Insight on the Issues: Strategies to Meet the Housing Needs of Older Adults, provides a comprehensive look at available and new research on the housing needs of older adults and is intended to help state and local policymakers address the unique housing needs of the senior population.

This report comes at a pivotal time when the Census Bureau is predicting that the number of Americans age 50 and up will increase 30% in the next 20 years alone—growing from 100 million in 2010 to 130 million older adults in 2030. Specifically, the report emphasizes the importance of building and preserving a wide-range of housing options that are sufficient to meet future demand, as well as being located in livable communities that provide affordable and appropriate housing, supportive community features and services, and adequate mobility options.

The Center for Housing Policy chair, John K. McIlwain, (who is also senior resident fellow and the J. Ronald Terwilliger chair for housing at the Urban Land Institute), explains, “With the population of older adults on the rise, this report helps to identify the essential housing policy strategies that can help them to balance their increasing needs with a desire to continue to stay closely connected to their families, communities, and society.” Susan Reinhard, AARP senior vice president and director of the AARP Public Policy Institute, adds, “These resources will be invaluable for policymakers at the state and local levels as they adapt to the changing needs of an aging population.”

The report summarizes findings outlined in a series of nine fact sheets, which has been expanded into an online toolkit on HousingPolicy.org—the Center for Housing Policy’s online guide to state and local housing policy solutions.

The report and toolkit are divided into the following three sections:

Accessible, Safe and Affordable Homes
The first area focuses on providing accessible, safe, and affordable homes for older adults that are not only designed to accommodate a variety of physical abilities, but are also affordable to those with fixed or limited incomes. Among the topics in this area are subsidized housing, universal design and visibility, and the weatherization of homes to improve energy-efficiency and lower utility costs.

Social Services and Transportation
Improving access to social services and transportation options for older adults is the second area of focus which also includes highlighting the importance of designing communities in a way that allows older adults to age-in-place—ultimately providing them with access to the services they need, and want, in order to live independently.

Housing Options Geared to Older Adults
The third area explores housing models geared to older adults who do not wish to live in a nursing home. One example is supportive housing, which is an umbrella term used for residential (versus institutional) settings that have been developed specifically to provide services such as meals, housekeeping assistance, and the monitoring of chronic health conditions. Co-housing, whether for all ages or for older adults only, is another option for those who want to age-in-place among friends and neighbors.

Online Toolkit
A general overview of the housing challenges and solutions is provided by the report and fact sheets—while the online toolkit also links to a wealth of other resources that are provided within HousingPolicy.org, authored by AARP’s Public Policy Institute, or published by other organizations.

Learn More about Housing Solutions
Last week’s announcement is part of Housing Solutions Week 2010—a series of events and announcements being hosted by the Center for Housing Policy and its affiliate, the National Housing Conference. Both organizations are focused on framing the nation’s housing challenges, while at the same time providing some of the solutions necessary in order to meet those challenges.

Are you following us on Twitter? — Home Evolutions will give you real-time updates when our latest blogs are posted, as well as timely information on Aging-in-Place news from around the country.

As a post-menopausal woman, Dr. Stephanie Studenski constantly struggled to find a form of exercise she enjoyed. But a few years ago, after her children bought her a dance pad fitness system, she finally re-discovered the joys of exercising. In the process, she lost over 50 pounds in the last two years.

“For the first time in my life, I found a form of exercise that I enjoyed so much I couldn’t stop doing it,” Studenski said.

Her experience with the dance pad fitness system prompted Studenski, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh’s Division of Geriatric Medicine, to conduct a pilot study with post-menopausal women using a dance pad.

“I was interested in the diversity and potential health benefits as well as the recreational nature of this form of physical activity,” said Studenski, explaining her interest in conducting this research study.

What was most important to Studenski was that most older women could do it. Most post-menopausal women in her study learned successfully how to use the dance pad fitness system.

“We conducted focus groups before we did the pilot project and many of them, when they just saw it, were kind of daunted by it,” she said. “They thought it might be too hard for them to use. About 80 percent of them were able to master it and make progress in the game. That was an important finding.”

The 31 women who participated in the study had previously tried many forms of physical activity but were unable to sustain it. That was part of the criteria to become part of the study.

“All of them thought that this was a fun activity to do,” Studenski said. “They offered positive feedback about the engaging nature of this physical activity. About 75 percent of the women danced more than what was required of the project. When they signed up to be part of this pilot study, they had to promise to come twice a week for 30 minutes. Well, many came extra because they were having so much fun and wanted to do more.”

Studenski concludes that this form of exercise may be an attractive option for many people who haven’t been able to find an exercise routine they enjoyed.

“We found that this could be a form of exercise they could stick with,” she said. “We also found early indications that there may be health benefits, such as helping to improve balance, some aspects of attention, and their blood pressure.”

Studenski plans to study the effects of dance pad systems and has applied for a grant with the National Institute of Health to conduct a formal clinical trial with 100 women.

Jackie Halbin has seen the effects of these systems first hand. As the Living Well Coordinator for Lakeview Village, a not-for-profit retirement community in Lenexa, KS, Halbin uses Dancetown, a dance pad fitness system, to keep her seniors active.

“From a fitness standpoint, I like it because it’s a good way to train balance, agility, and weight-shifting, without a traditional exercise class, so it appeals to a certain group of people who might not come to a regular class,” said Halbin who oversees fitness and wellness programming for the residents and staff. “It provides them with some good training. That’s important for seniors because they need to keep active. It will keep them stronger, help them live independently longer and lead to a better quality of life.”

Although Lakeview has a Wii, more residents receive a better workout using Dancetown, according to Halbin.
“Most seniors just use the Wii to bowl,” Halbin said. “Dancetown is more beneficial as far as the agility type training. In your everyday activities, you can be walking down the hallway and you have to step over to the side to dodge something. Dancetown trains them better for those types of agility movements versus the Wii games. Wii is more one dimensional, while Dancetown give us more dimensions. I like the way the program progresses them from side-to-side movements to front-to-back and then combining all four directions.”

Although she didn’t study its effects, Studenski prefers dance pad fitness systems over the Wii and Wii Fit.

“For many seniors, the music and dance format is an attractive element to promote activity,” she said. “Wii Fit is based more on the concept of a workout than it is playing a game.”

She’s concerned that we have turned physical activity into a duty rather than a pleasure, making people feel like they have to exercise.

“Most exercise is repetitive and boring, like walking on a treadmill or doing reps with weights,” she said. “One of the problems that people in our focus group mentioned is that exercise is boring, but with the dance game, you lose track of time. I worry that the Wii Fit has too much of a workout approach rather than a game approach.”

What do you think? Wii or other Dance Systems?

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As seniors and people with disabilities age and wish to remain in their homes, they may need help with eating, bathing, dressing, and other physical activities. Long-term care insurance can help pay for such care in the future. Larry Rubin, a long term care insurance agent from Pittsburgh, cites two reasons why people should consider buying long term care insurance. First, without having the insurance, you can get into a situation where you need the type of care that these policies provide and pay for.

“If you don’t have the insurance, then you become a physical and an emotional burden upon your family,” he says. “It can devastate families by trying to find care, provide care, and plan for the care. And it absolutely drains the emotions and physical capabilities of families who don’t have this insurance.”

The second reason is that this insurance can protect your income, retirement, estate and assets because the cost of care is exorbitant, nationally averaging about $75,000 a year if you’re in a skilled nursing facility or receiving ongoing care at home.

“It can cause significant damage to your income,” he says. “So it’s a protection that allows you to hold on whatever income and assets you have and let the policy kick in and take care of any long term care needs.”

Rubin is not a captive agent selling products from only one insurance carrier. Instead, he works with five major carriers enabling him to call upon all of them to get the best policy at the best price for his clients.

Though there is no optimal age to buy long term care insurance, Rubin recommends 45 to 70 years old. The advantage of buying it at 45 years old is the presumption that you’re still in good health. While there are many types of riders and bells and whistles associated with every insurance policy/company, Rubin says to keep in mind four essential benefits, or moving parts, meaning the more benefits, the higher the premium.

First, know how many dollars a month you want the policy to pay for and how many years of coverage you want, keeping in mind that the more years, the more expensive it can get. That typically depends on what you can afford and what the cost of care is should you need a skilled nursing facility in the city you live in.

Secondly, determine what you want the monthly benefit to be. It can be as low as $50 a day to $300 a day, again depending on your financial circumstance. The third component is the elimination period or a deductible—how many days out of pocket are you willing to pay for your care before the policy kicks in, like a deductible on a car or house insurance.

Finally, and although it’s an option, it’s close to anything that Rubin insists on, and that is inflation protection on the monthly amount as well as the lifetime maximum policy. A policyholder can buy 5 percent compounded or 5 percent simple inflation. Inflation protection benefit increases the daily or monthly benefit amount over time to keep pace with inflation and increased cost of expenses.  Even though your benefits are increasing each year, your premium does not automatically increase.

To learn more about long term care insurance, visit AARP, National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and Heinz Family Philanthropies.

Are you following us on Twitter? — Home Evolutions will give you real-time updates when our latest blogs are posted, as well as timely information on Aging-in-Place news from around the country.

A recent article by Tom Kelly describes how rising long-term care costs are fueling the demand for aging-in-place home modifications. According to Kelly, even though builders are doing an admirable job of incorporating universal design features in new homes, baby boomers still continue to be slow in accepting the need for them.

Such slow acceptance is also similar to people’s responses to environmentally friendly homes. For example, only 12% of respondents to a MetLife survey said they would pay more for a green home. But, the same people surveyed are willing to pay an average one-time amount of nearly $7,000 if it would save $1,000 annually in utility costs. While another 23% of respondents said they are concerned about the environment, it does not drive their decision to invest in sustainability.

Kelly believes that the key to modifying people’s ideas and behaviors is through education and the dissemination of proper and appropriate information, in this case by the aging-in-place experts. “The educational push by builders, architects, and designers is to remove the ‘old’ association from universal design (UD).”

UD and aging-in-place construction can also increase an individual’s feelings of independence while simultaneously adding aesthetic beauty and enhancing their home’s resale value. Kelly explains, “Builders are striving to create UD applications that make it easier for someone to carry out daily activities such as preparing meals, climbing stairs, and bathing, as well as changing the physical structure of a home to improve its overall safety and condition.”

According to Kelly, the necessary tools required for homeowners to stay in their homes longer and age-in-place were brought to the forefront of the building community through information attained from a cost survey conducted by MetLife on nursing homes, assisted-living communities, home care agencies, and adult day services in all 50 states.

The survey data consistently showed that the national average rates for private and semi-private rooms in nursing homes, assisted-living base rates, average hourly rates for home health aides and homemaker/companions, as well as adult day services average daily rates have all increased and continue to rise.

CAPS certified remodelers like Home Evolutions can help you choose more affordable aging-in-place and universal design options that can allow you to remain living comfortably, safely, and independently in your own house.

Read more about this story in the next and upcoming issue of The Forever Home.

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Last week’s AARP study of Washington, D.C.-area seniors who joined aging-in-place networks say the move has made them feel more engaged in their communities and more comfortable with their decision to stay in their homes.

According to the organization, it is clear from AARP research on the local level that the vast majority of seniors would like to remain in their homes and neighborhoods as they age versus going to a retirement community or nursing home.

The question is how to make aging at home safer and more comfortable?

Organizers in several DC communities, indicated that the best way to make that happen is through a Village. By that, they mean a grassroots membership organization, modeled after Beacon Hill Village in Boston, through which neighbors help neighbors access support and services to age in place.

“That could mean anything from a ride to the doctor, home repair referrals, or someone to take in your mail when you’re on vacation all the way to 24-7 home care,” according to the findings. “Some Villages also offer social opportunities from chess clubs to yoga classes to lectures and cultural outings.”

Since October 2007, six Villages have opened their doors in DC—more than in any city nationwide other than San Francisco. Five of them agreed to participate in an AARP DC study released on October 26, 2009 at the Village to Village Network Symposium in Washington, DC.

The goal of “Neighbors Helping Neighbors: A Qualitative Study of Villages Operating in the District of Columbia” is to provide District Villages the opportunity to learn from one another and to share their best practices, challenges and advice with organizers across the country regarding:

• Starting a new Village
• Building a strong board of directors
• Recruiting members
• Retaining members

Researchers from AARP interviewed residents and volunteers from five villages to find out what works and what doesn’t. A summary of key best practices and recommendations include the following:

• When starting a new Village, be flexible and open to change – adopt a “learn as you go” philosophy.
• Make sure you have the right mix of people on your board – experts in business, sales, fundraising, legal issues, finance, and local government, as well as a cheerleader.
• Use one-on-one conversations, such as small group dinners, to effectively recruit new members.
• Seek in-kind donations of office space and bookkeeping, and if possible, pool resources with other Villages nearby for common needs like bookkeeping and insurance.
• Offer a “membership plus” program or reduced membership fee for people in neighborhoods with low incomes.
• Find ways to recognize volunteers.
• Communicate with members via email and phone – shown to be the most effective communication channels.

What do you think of the Village concept? Let us know and we’ll share your responses with AARP.

Are you following us on Twitter? — Home Evolutions will give you real-time updates when our latest blogs are posted, as well as timely information on Aging-in-Place news from around the country.