Ramps are some of the most common accessible home modifications requested. They support a variety of people with disabilities including those who utilize wheelchairs as a means of functional mobility as well as users who require a ramp to support their temporary recovery from elective hip and knee surgeries to individuals who are looking to modify their homes for aging in place.
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When it comes to accessible home modifications, deciding who to hire for the project is just as important as deciding which project you really need. When you have a chronic illness or catastrophic injury, hiring the wrong person or company can jeopardize your safety and your finances.
It is essential to get skilled, experienced advice and technical guidance—for your safety, well-being, and your finances. How do you know when it’s time to hire a pro?
Here are real-life examples that show four common mistakes from hiring inexperienced vendors or contractors for accessible home modifications and how we helped our clients get exactly what they needed.
One wheelchair-bound client with a spinal cord injury needed to be able to get to the second floor in his home, so he bought a chair lift with installation in order to get up the stairs. Because he lived alone, he needed to be able to transfer from the chair to the lift by himself.
However, the vendor failed to ask some critical questions and left the client with two problems. First, the seat of the chair lift did not provide the width/depth needed for his stability in independent sitting. Second, the installed height of the lift was much higher than the height of the wheelchair—making a safe, independent transfer impossible (shown in the image below on the left). As a result, he suffered a few falls.
As occupational therapists and home modifications experts, we know which questions to ask. We came in after the chair lift was installed due to problems he was experiencing transferring at the chair lift. We opted to increase the depth of the chair lift seat and modify the height of his wheelchair seat cushion to allow for a safe, level transfer (shown in the image below on the right).
If the client had reached out to Thrive for Life in the first place, we could have asked better questions to find the right chair lift option. As occupational therapists, we can anticipate what needs someone will have more effectively than someone who does not have experience in the healthcare field.
With more complete client information combined with our technical knowledge and medical background, we can give our client several options with pros, cons, and costs of each one. The result is a well-educated choice with better results.
Inexperienced contractors (with no occupational therapy background) who follow Americans with Disability Act (ADA) guidelines without the ability to adapt to their clients’ specific medical needs can make huge, costly mistakes. (See 3 reasons why remodeled bathrooms should not be ADA compliant).
This is what happened with one client who had a high-level (C4) spinal cord injury. She hired a contractor to build a beautiful 60”x30” roll-in shower that was ADA compliant, but the shower failed to meet her individual complex medical needs.
Because the shower wasn’t long enough for her to recline in, she could not elevate her legs after her bowel and bladder program—a must for reducing vasovagal responses preventing dizziness or fainting. Because there wasn’t enough room for her to put her legs up, her bath chair had to be rotated perpendicular to the shower fixtures in order for her legs to be elevated. To make matters worse, the water where her legs were positioned drained out of the shower instead of into it—this resulted in significant water damage over time. (See image below.)
To meet the needs of this individual, we had to go in and redo the shower entirely. It needed an expansion of over a foot of space in order to accommodate her when her chair was reclined, and keep the water from draining outside the shower and causing additional water damage to the home.
Not every bathroom needs an expensive, total remodel to accommodate accessibility needs. Clients can sometimes save thousands of dollars with simpler, less expensive alternatives.
Occupational therapists know many tips, tricks, hacks, and workarounds that fit the needs of their clients while providing both mobility and safety. For example, sometimes a client can install equipment that works with the existing shower that they have. A sliding shower chair with lateral track, a ramp, or lifting the floor can be smaller, less-expensive remedies to support a client’s needs. These choices can save thousands of dollars.
Another midpoint choice could be to simply lift the floor of the shower so that it can be accessed at a wheelchair level.
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Here’s another example: If the doorway in a home is just a few inches too narrow to fit a walker, we can switch the two front wheels. Moving the wheels to the inside of the chair or walker legs instantly makes the walker 2”-4” narrower. With the addition of offset hinges to help the door swing all the way open, these accessibility tools can get you through the doorway without having to widen it to 36”; saving hundreds of dollars.
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A portable shower can be another alternative to a full bathroom remodel, saving thousands.
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When you go straight to a contractor or vendor for an accessible home modification, you may not hear about all of the options available for you. Some contractors only know about standard accessible options and are unaware of alternatives. Some contractors favor their own product lines. For example, vendors who sell a line of stair climbers or chair lifts may neglect to consider vertical platform lifts, prefabricated ramp systems, or rental options for clients on a budget. Those situations don’t favor the client who needs the modification.
An occupational therapy pro not only has the depth and breadth of knowledge to offer many options and solutions, but they also don’t have a vested interest in selling a particular product line. They can give unbiased opinions and are held to high professional standards and the OT code of ethics.
Ask us about individualized, custom solutions that fit your specific needs and provide maximum independence, safety, and cost-effectiveness.
The road to making your home as accessible as possible is filled with red tape. Between insurance technicalities, ADA compliance, building contractors, and necessary considerations for you and your family’s well-being, living comfortably in your own home can get complicated—fast. Accessibility professionals offer a bridge between you and a complex system that can leave your well-being feeling out of reach.
Here are our top four benefits of hiring an accessibility pro for your home modification projects.
Accessibility specialists act as a liaison between the medical world, the construction world, and your world. They advocate for you and your wellbeing throughout the complex process of creating your most comfortable home.
With specialized backgrounds in occupational therapy, Thrive for Life’s accessibility professionals are a trusted, credible resource who understand your mobility needs as well as the inner workings of the healthcare industry.
Although not typically versed in construction projects, an experienced accessibility specialist understands the needs of construction work. With acquired skills in drafting project specs and home installation, you’ll always have a pro on your side who is ready to deal with any hurdles that surface during your project.
A project as important as your health and safety needs to run smoothly. With an accessibility specialist acting as a project manager, you can focus on increasing your quality of life while your pro keeps the project (and any contractors) on track. With the ability to juggle multiple areas of expertise at once, an accessibility specialist creates a winning combination for everyone involved.
Odds are your Medicare doesn’t cover home modifications, but your insurance does—sometimes. Having an ally who helps your project stay true to plans saves you the headache of going over budget and it enables you to navigate other funding options, like Medicare, Medicaid, veterans benefits, workers compensation insurance, long-term disability insurance, and even creative funding sources like nonprofits and grants.
Your accessibility pro knows the safest and most cost-effective way to complete your project without losing sight of your medical needs. With years of occupational therapy experience, your well-being is always at the top of the list.
From the emergency room to rehabilitation centers to nursing facilities to inpatient/outpatient care, accessibility specialists bridge the gaps in your healthcare journey. The relationship you create with your occupational therapist and accessibility specialist ensures consistent and quality medical attention from someone who knows and understands your individual needs.
With an accessibility specialist overseeing your home modification, the bridge expands beyond health care professionals and extends to contractors, insurance companies, and third-party payers.
Having a pro on your side ensures your care is as seamless as possible in a very complex situation. You have someone you can trust and rely on to give you the most holistic answer to all of your most important questions. An accessibility pro helps educate you by painting the whole picture of your care from start to finish.
If you are interested in hiring an accessibility specialist for your home modification projects, please contact us to assist in your project.
If you are an occupational therapist and becoming an accessibility pro sounds like something you are interested in exploring, visit our website to get your journey started!
You love your home, and you want to live in it for as long as possible. But how do you continue to live your golden years in a home that no longer accommodates your level of mobility? Some elderly and mobility challenged opt for senior or group housing, but many are choosing to stay put.
With many different styles of home modifications and lifts on the market, it is time to narrow your search down to two: A Stiltz lift and the more widely recognized stairlift. While both are helpful solutions when the stairs become too much, we have a clear favorite.
Before we get into that, let’s explore your options.
Odds are you have seen a stairlift (or stair glide) in action. A stairlift is a motorized seat (usually battery-powered) mounted to a stair rail. The lift transports the chair up and down the stairs controlled by a joystick, remote control, or power button. Stairlifts are a bulkier option and, depending on your mobility levels, potentially more dangerous.
Some stairlift purveyors offer self-installation options, which, although cost-effective, we do not recommend because you lose the option to have an evaluation from a medical and mobility specialist. Trying to save a few dollars installing a stairlift yourself could result in costly modifications down the road.
One serious consideration for stairlifts is the transfer from wheelchair to the lift chair back to the wheelchair. Although on the surface stairlifts seem like a more affordable option, you must consider having a separate wheelchair for the second floor and whether the transfer process could leave the user in a compromised situation.
In contrast, whether you are ready for a home lift now or are future-proofing, Stiltz home elevator lifts put the sexy into home modifications. You aren’t a one-size-fits-all person, and Stiltz lifts allow the flexibility to find a lift that fits your needs.
A Stiltz lift is a unique and compact design that can be installed almost anywhere in your home. Stiltz offers three different variations of lifts to ensure that you never feel dependent on a caretaker, even though you might be. The installation for your Stiltz isn’t complicated, but there are lots of nuances you need to think about—hire an expert!
Getting older (or living with a disability) is not for the faint of heart! No one likes to feel compromised in any way, but time has its own plans. Home modifications don’t have to carry the stigma of old age or disability. They can increase the value of your home, be entirely out of sight, and make you the envy of all your aging friends!
The Stiltz Duo Alta is compact and installed almost anywhere in your home, including closets, corners, and hallways. The Stiltz Trio Alta offers two different versions to accommodate a wheelchair and up to three people. Stiltz elevators can also move heavy, awkward items between floors and all but guarantee your spot as the coolest grandpa on the block.
Regardless of the type of home modifications you choose to implement, we strongly recommend the involvement of an accessibility specialist. Without the participation of a professional, you could invest in an expensive home modification that ends up causing more harm.
In the case of stairlifts, we have seen misaligned transfers create falls and more injury. We do not want this to happen to you, which is why we endorse Stiltz home lift elevator! A quality elevator and professional guidance take the guesswork and room for error out of the chair transfer process and keeps you and your loved ones safe.
The installation of a Stiltz elevator requires bi-yearly maintenance and power considerations—all best handled by an accessibility specialist.
Let’s work together to make sure your home is where you will stay.
Approximately one in four Americans aged 65 and older are socially isolated (NAP). This isolation presents significant health risks, including premature mortality, poor mental health, high blood pressure, and obesity. Social isolation is linked with a 50% increase in dementia, higher risks of stroke, and, in some cases, even suicide (CDC).
We have the unique opportunity to help identify, limit, and alleviate the adverse effects of social isolation on the aging population. But how?
So what is accessibility? Merriam-Webster defines accessibility as capable of being reached, capable of being understood, or accessed by differently-abled individuals. As OTs and accessibility specialists, we can use our skills to increase the quality of life for the communities we serve.
Complications in care surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted a reality many of us were already aware of, continuity of care is vital to our communities’ health and well-being.
With hospital beds full and the healthcare industry stretched to its maximum capacity, it was our elderly community that paid the price. Many individuals who needed care no longer felt safe leaving their homes for treatment. Those who did leave their homes were hurried through the system to create more space for more critical COVID patients.
The cumulative effect of a lack of medical accessibility and receptivity is critical in its own right. With an increase in ageism, inability to receive preventative care, and the onset of a more sedentary lifestyle, our older population was left feeling isolated and abandoned by the health community on which they depend.
For some individuals, leaving their home is not only about if but how. Physical limitations on mobility isolate our elderly communities, even if they are highly motivated to get out and experience the world.
Often what we think creates mobility opportunities still leaves accessibility gaps. It’s great that your town has a curbside shuttle service for those in need. How will those individuals get to their curb or into the office once they arrive at their destination without extra support?
Those three steps between your garage and living room can feel like a mountain for someone experiencing limited mobility and isolation.
Creating home modifications and physical mobility solutions keeps the elderly and people with mobility issues safe in their own homes while also creating a bridge between their isolation and the outside world.
Poor mental health brought on by isolation compromises the body’s ability to fight off illness and disease. Neglecting mental health can create new ailments while compounding preexisting conditions (Blue Cross Blue Shield). By increasing accessibility through home modifications, we allow individuals with limited mobility the freedom to connect with the outside world or even parts of their home which were previously inaccessible.
Physical and emotional accessibility is not a luxury. It’s a vital component to a healthy mind, strong body, and happy life. Reach out to learn more about creating an accessible environment for yourself or your clients.
Accessible home modifications are an overlooked but extremely cost-effective way for Medicare to save millions of dollars on healthcare for America’s senior citizens. Bureaucratic red tape and political healthcare arguments in general have kept us from moving forward. However, the benefits in both reduced healthcare costs and increased quality of life for our elderly mean that Medicare should begin investing in these critical healthcare solutions. Where do we want to put our healthcare dollars?
Home modifications are just what they sound like—changes to a home to accommodate the needs of the person living in it. As we age, we may need accommodations that specifically address limited mobility, arthritis, sight or hearing loss, and other issues.
These can be as simple as installing lever-style door handles, grab bars, better lighting, or ramps—or as extensive as smart technology, stairlifts, walk-in tubs, widening doors and hallways, or eliminating thresholds.
Occupational therapists can determine what modifications are needed and make targeted recommendations.
The #1 cause of senior citizen medical expenses is accidents in the home. They fall, sustain a traumatic injury, and it’s a downward spiral from there. Once you’re injured, you’re more likely to have another fall within the first year. A second fall means that at the very least, you may need a walking device. Worse, you may very well become dependent on a caregiver, need to move to a care home, or even die.
Accessible home modifications can prevent these accidents. And they can do it at a fraction of the cost of medical care.
For example, widening a doorway to accommodate walkers or wheelchairs can cost less than $100 in materials. A step-free entrance can range from $1000 to $4000. Non-slip flooring can cost as little as $3 per square foot. (AARP) Remodeling a bathroom is one of the most effective projects for preventing falls, and can cost anywhere from $2000 to $20,000.
But compare those costs to the costs of moving into a care home, or needing more intensive care after an accident. Long-term care is expensive. Assisted living facilities can cost $4000 per month, and residential care homes can cost up to $10,000 per month. Nursing homes can easily cost $7000 per month. These outcomes could be delayed or avoided with the proper prevention.
Even with a clear understanding of both the potential for improved quality of life and the enormous cost savings of accessible home modifications, one of the biggest roadblocks is how to pay for it.
Medicaid already pays for home modifications through waiver programs. Each state provides a way to waive the traditional guidelines of Medicaid so that whatever modifications are needed can be completed. These are not always ADA compliant—they are specific solutions for individuals.
The truth is that Medicare could replicate what Medicaid is doing. Original Medicare doesn’t pay for home modifications. However, we’ve started to see some movement with Medicare Advantage plans that allow states to customize their plans in order to cover accessible home modification. In some cases, Medicare Advantage plans will pay for an occupational therapy evaluation or a very few rare modifications. One of our goals locally is to work with our Medicare Advantage plans to try and have home modifications be a benefit for everyone in our area.
However, these changes are only partial, patchwork fixes that do not adequately address the need. What’s more, by failing to provide adequate means to age in place, they end up spending more money on more expensive care.
Medicare already provides healthcare benefits for US citizens over the age of 65. These are the very people who often need home modifications to avoid more expensive medical care.
In addition, Medicare provides healthcare benefits for those under 65 but who have certain disabilities. This is another group that would also be helped with home modifications to avoid accidents and extended or expanded home care.
The data shows that healthcare dollars can be saved by implementing programs that invest in home modification. In 2015, the total medical costs for falls totaled more than $50 billion, with 75% of that cost paid by Medicare and Medicaid. And studies have shown that installing home modifications directly results in a reduction in the need for care in the home by up to 46%.
For questions and assistance with your home modification needs, contact Thrive for Life.
Wheelchairs can be liberating or they can be aggravating. For people who are in need of a mechanism for movement, wheelchairs offer a range of mobility options that can have people on the go again. The various styles and designs in which wheelchairs are made can make choosing the correct device for your needs overwhelming. Finding the right wheelchair for your needs will enable you to lessen the hassle and achieve maximum function.
As wheelchairs are designed for various types of activities and uses, their sizes, weights, styles, and capabilities all have effects on the user’s experience. Ultimately, when selecting the right wheelchair, especially for a first time user, working with an occupational therapist is recommended. However, there are a few tips that can help you cut down through the decision making the process of selecting the right wheelchair for your needs.
Manual Wheelchairs
Manual wheelchairs are typically intended for people who have use of their upper body strength, needed for short periods of time, or infrequent use. These types of wheelchairs are maneuvered by the user propelling the chair forward or backward by physically pushing the wheels.
The modern models of manual wheelchairs are considerably less in weight than those of a few decades ago, making them easier to fold and load into vehicles as well as to maneuver around in general. While these styles of wheelchairs have made strides in their design options such as added suspension systems that smooth the ride, they primarily are standard utility chairs that are lacking in extra frills.
Power Wheelchairs
If a person is unable to push themselves with their upper body use or strength, then the better option is a power wheelchair. These designs are powered by electric motors and batteries and controlled by using a joystick for direction. The traditional style resembles a motorized standard-issue wheelchair, where other styles such as the platform model power chair are more advanced.
The list of equipment options on power wheelchairs are varied and can range from lighter weight easy to transport to off-road ruggedness. Depending on your level of needs, the power chairs can offer extensive capabilities that allow you to have more independence as well as mobility. However, the bulkier the wheelchair is, the more in-depth your transportation plans will need to become.
Points To Keep In Mind
Once you have a clear idea of your needs, it is best to test a few wheelchair models if possible before you purchase or rent one. Your weight, height, and physical needs all come into play when choosing the most comfortable fit for you. You will also want to keep in mind the level of use in which you will be required of the wheelchair, if you only need it for trips that require a lot of walking or if you need it to complete daily tasks. All of these considerations will help you determine what wheelchair best suits your needs.
Contact Thrive For Life today for all of your wheelchair needs.
At Thrive for Life, we’re all about helping customers to age in place, as they experience what it’s like to live at home in their later years. Many people really desire to stay on their property rather than moving to a retirement community, and we help to make that happen.
If a senior happens to have a pool on the premises, there’s no reason they can’t outfit this amenity for enhanced access so that they can continue to use it. Today we’ll talk about some aspects of making pools accessible for those with mobility restrictions and other kinds of limitations.
Here are some key ways to add ADA access for a pool.
Pool Stairs and Ramps
One way to help with this kind of access is to re-engineer the entrances to a pool in the form of pool stairs and ramps. Some out-of-the-box pool stairs are very narrow, and not very easy to navigate for anyone. They’re halfway dangerous!
When it comes to convenient and safe access for the mobility impaired, a ramp is the gold standard. A ramp with a rail provides that level of safety that you need to enjoy your pool confidently as you age. It’s also more convenient for most pool-goers.
Lifts
Pool lifts can be another way to get ADA accessibility for a pool. The key here is to make sure they have the right safety features and lock-up designs to prevent accidents related to unauthorized use.
Aquatic wheelchairs
Doctors and physical therapists know that pools are a great way to work the body and maintain muscle tone for seniors. The key here, though, is that if someone has particular limitations like lack of lower body strength, they may not be able to do the cardio and training exercises in the pool safely. An aquatic wheelchair can fix this problem. Ask us for more detail about how to use one of these tools to work out safely in a pool.
Slip Safety
With any of these solutions, it’s also very important to monitor areas around the pool for slip safety. Additional railings and textured non-skid surfaces may be necessary. Having the right eye for safety is critical in designing these systems to really protect seniors who may be more vulnerable to injury from a fall scenario.
Ask us about how to customize an outdoor or indoor pool for use by at-home seniors. We excel at helping to offer aging family members more independence and a better quality of life at home!
Making your home accessible means it will be possible for anyone to come into your home and visit. There are many ways that you can make accommodations for those who are in a wheelchair or have limited mobility.
Although it will cost time and money to make the proper modifications, the benefits can be so rewarding. Here are some of the ways you will want to modify your home to become wheelchair accessible.
At least one entryway in your home needs to be wheelchair accessible. Installing a wheelchair ramp will allow easy access for anyone who wants to enter your home who has a disability. There are a variety of styles and shapes you can choose from your entry ramp, such as concrete, wooden, or aluminum ramps. Aluminum ramps are easier on your budget and durable as well.
To accommodate a wheelchair, every doorframe of your home, including the main entryway, should be at least 32 inches wide so a wheelchair can come through. Be sure you want to widen the main entryway as well as any interior doors. When installing doors, such as bathroom doors, make sure the door swings outwards, so it’s easier for someone in a wheelchair to enter a bathroom and close the door.
Setting up the bathroom is one of the most important ways to make your home wheelchair accessible. First, make sure there is one full bathroom on the main floor of your home. You will also want to be sure the bathroom is slip-proof. So, remove any rugs to prevent possible accidents.
Next, your bathroom should have a bathtub or shower designed for someone with limited mobility. You will want to include things such as a transfer seat, grab bars, handrails, a bath bench, and a roll-in shower. For your toilet seat, add a raised seat to your existing low-level toilet seat. Also, install grab bars around the toilet, which are 33 to 36 inches high, and a grab bar right next to the toilet around 42 inches in length.
For your bedroom, you will want to make sure there is enough space for someone with a wheelchair or walker throughout the room. First, you’ll want the bed size to be comfortable enough to sleep in, with enough space for someone to move around the bed in a wheelchair or walker. Also, be sure that the dresser is within reach of the bed, making it easier for someone with a disability to get dressed without getting up.
Getting your home ready for someone with a disability can be an expensive investment, but the freedom it allows makes it more than worth it. For questions and assistance with your home transformation, contact Thrive for Life for your next project.
At Thrive for Life, we are experienced in helping seniors outfit their homes with the right care and attention to detail to prevent various kinds of accidents and injuries.
Fall prevention is critically important in assisting seniors who remain in their homes. The CDC shows 3 million falls are reported annually, and about 1/10 of these or 300,000 involve hip fractures.
With this in mind, we help families to plan for the future with lifts, supports, and many other tools and resources to keep elderly family members safe.
What we’ve learned is that each person has their own individual needs.
Some people stress support and assistance at every turn, where others want to have different supports that allow them to remain more mobile and active.
We worked with Jim; a World War II vet with a heart of gold. Jim was shown the full package – stairlift, full ADA bathroom, etc.
Jim’s evaluation showed that he had strong upper-body mobility and was mainly hampered by a fake leg. He was in the process of getting an improved prosthesis that would facilitate better mobility and range of motion.
“I don’t need all that stuff,” Jim said. “Just give me the support bars and a ramp out front to get in and out.”
We did suggest Jim get some of the very minimal basics based on our experience and analysis of the property, but it wasn’t difficult to come up with a working plan that satisfied everybody, including the kids.
As for the stairs, Jim settled for replacing flimsy wooden handrails with bolted in stainless steel ones that would handle his body weight.
“I’ll crawl up the steps if I have to,” he said.
Another thing Jim asked for was built-in resistance bands on the back patio. Through a surprising number of years, by keeping his upper body strength, he was able to get around just fine without some of the advanced supports that many of our customers need even if they have all four limbs.
The moral of the story is that you need to understand individual needs and expectations. However, you also have to plan for adequate safety, looking at someone’s evaluation and health conditions, and everything else. By getting this kind of qualified consulting, seniors can rest easy that they have what they need to stay safe in their own homes and support their own particular lifestyles because let’s be frank – they’ve earned these golden years!
Contact us to learn more about ADA accommodations and what we can do to help reach them.
A home modifications guide for accessible living
Because home is where you want to stay
