AIPatHome.com and the Midwest Independent Living Consultants are working together to produce an online tour of the Chairs and Cares Model Accessible Home to show people (nationally and internationally) how to live independently and age in place. The home is owned by the North Central Technical College and located on their campus in Wausau, Wisconsin. It’s a 2-story, 4600 square foot home with 3 car garage. This house is not lived in and never will be. Its sole purpose is to be a demonstration home for independent living.
The online tour will feature videos, photo galleries and detailed product information – similar to our tours in the showcase section of AIPatHome.com. The Chairs & Cares tour will be updated quarterly to feature different products i.e., furniture, fixtures, appliances, equipment and technology, that are available to create a truly accessible home.
The C+CMAH Tour will be promoted to Independent Living Centers nationwide as well as consumers and aging-in-place professionals internationally. Social media tools (Facebook, Twitter), international video distribution by Blip TV, AIPatHome e-publications and joint marketing sites will be used.
The Chairs & Cares House is is similar to the Bilbrook AT Home in Staffordshire, England. “A fully working home that demonstrates AT (Assistive Technology) within a health and social care centre. This speeds access to assessments, helps train professionals and demonstrates solutions to the public.
The home showcases the whole spectrum of AT, from grab rails to the latest telecare and telehealth monitors. It allows people to see the range of options available to them, understand how they work and ultimately how they can improve their lives.”
Walk-in demonstration homes are a great way to reach a lot of people who are able to go to them. We’re excited to be able to show the C+CMAH to many, many, more people by having it online, bringing it to them.
Joseph Coughlin, Director of the MIT Agelab, gives a talk at TEDx Boston: Aging As An Extreme Sport. “Aging is not for wimps. Think about it. As you change your environment remains the same. Your kitchen cabinets are still the mess they were, but now the height seems like a stretching exercise. Your home’s stairs now qualify as a steeple chase. And, what was once a simple shopping trip or bus ride is now something that feels like the last few yards of a swim meet.”
Fear is keeping many retirees or soon-to-be retired people from making financial decisions according to a recently released study by Financal Engines a California based investment advisory firm.
One common reaction to their financial fears: Retirees did nothing. “I really don’t have a financial plan,” said a 64-year-old retiree quoted in the report. Said one 60-year-old about his investing uncertainty: “Trying to shift stuff around at our age is scary. … If you make a mistake, we’re in a cardboard box eating dog food. I don’t have 20 years anymore.”
A couple of weeks ago my wife and I went to visit my 96 years of fabulous-living mom. Of course we talked about age in place related stuff (she lives alone in her own home) and some things that we could do while we were there to make it safer for her.
One day we were sitting in the kitchen, yacking it up, when her personal emergency response system (PERS) went off and did a required system check among other things. Scared the living heck out us! If you have ever heard one go off you know what I mean. It’s like an air raid drill alert.
When we calmed down that triggered a discussion about PERs. We recommended that she switch to one of the new generation of PERS a GPS/Cellular System that would allow her to be protected away from the house.
She chose the Mobile Help System that works anywhere a cell phone on the AT+T network works. That means in the car, (yes, she drives…too fast. But that’s another story.) in the store, (she does her own shopping) church, theater – you get the idea.
The super neat thing is it operates just like her old system when she’s at home. When she leaves the house she just takes the Voice Help button with her and she’s covered. No matter where she is the GPS satellite technology can pinpoint her location so the emergency response center can send help should she need it.
We think the term/phrase “Aging in Place” or “Age in Place” is awful! A marketing person’s flash of brilliance that should have been left on the cutting room floor. What’s your suggestion for a better way to describe people who want to live in their own home for as long as possible? Drop us an email or click here if you like to fill out forms (you’ll need to scroll down the page a bit for the form).
AIPatHome.com and the Midwest Independent Living Consultants are working together to produce an online tour of the Chairs and Cares Model Accessible Home to show people (nationally and internationally) how to live independently and age in place. The home is owned by the North Central Technical College and located on their campus in Wausau, Wisconsin. It’s a 2-story, 4600 square foot home with 3 car garage. This house is not lived in and never will be. Its sole purpose is to be a demonstration home for independent living.
The New Opportunity of Old Age
Joseph Coughlin, Director of the MIT Agelab, gives a talk at TEDx Boston: Aging As An Extreme Sport. “Aging is not for wimps. Think about it. As you change your environment remains the same. Your kitchen cabinets are still the mess they were, but now the height seems like a stretching exercise. Your home’s stairs now qualify as a steeple chase. And, what was once a simple shopping trip or bus ride is now something that feels like the last few yards of a swim meet.”