Archive for Chris Moore

Those of you who read this column regularly may remember that in March of this year I wrote a column discussing electronic monitoring and how this technology can help our loved ones live independent lives in their own homes longer. I am excited to be able to report that Solid Rock Enterprises, Inc. is now an authorized Referral Representative for the Simply Home system. Anyone who has an aging parent or other loved one they are concerned about (particularly one who lives alone) will breathe a sigh of relief to learn about the availability of this great system. The system works by installing a series of discreet wireless sensors throughout the home that measure the activity (or inactivity) of the individual. Each system is tailored to the specific needs of the particular situation. Once the system is in operation, it operates inconspicuously in the background. There is no need to push a button to call for help. (Although that option is available as well) Reports of daily activity are available on the Simply Home website. These reports can help detect any warning signs of potential health problems. With the optional Virtual Care Management, a health care professional will review these reports and look for any troublesome trends or signs of trouble. Alerts can be customized in many ways. For example, if you have the Simply Home system installed in your mother’s home and she doesn’t get up at her usual time or doesn’t take her medicine at the proper time, you can program the system to send an email, a text message, or a phone call to a family member a caregiver, or a call center staffed 24/7 by nurses and EMTs. The system also has the ability to track vital signs such as weight, blood pressure, and blood glucose levels. Each system is configured to meet the needs of the person using it. A sensor could be installed on a stove with the ability to turn it off if there is no activity in the room for a certain period of time. The system can be tied into the lighting, HVAC and other systems in the house, so that, for example, lights come on automatically when you get out of bed. A camera could be set up at the front door so you can see who is at the door without getting up. The possibilities are practically endless. The best part of the system is that it can allow people to safely remain in their own homes for far longer than they would otherwise be able to. The Simply Home system operates on built in cellular communication, is portable, easy to set up and operate, and is available for lease with no contract required. Another unique ability in the Simply Home system is what they call “sequential decision making”. In other words the system is able to analyze a series, or combination of events to determine if an alert needs to go out. For example, getting out of bed at 2:30 am may be normal, but the front door opening, followed by no motion in the house would signal an alert. The system is completely customizable and can be reconfigured or adjusted at any time. Simply Home can be purchased or leased and systems can be leased for as little as $129 a month. Please give us a call at 540-384-2064 to schedule your free, no obligation in home assessment. As always, thank you for reading Housing Matters and remember, with Solid Rock Enterprises, Inc., you can age in the place you love…..HOME.

I recently had a display at a trade show targeted at seniors. As part of my display I had about a dozen grab bars with different colors, finishes, textures displayed along the front of my table. Throughout the course of the show, I heard people say over and over, “I’m not ready for that yet!”  It struck me as curious that people would view grab bars and other home accessories and modifications designed to promote safety as something that would only be useful or applicable to the very old or infirm. My point in exhibiting so many different types of grab bars was to demonstrate the many attractive options that are on the market today. I really want to stress the importance of foresight and planning ahead as we think about our lives in the coming years. Universal design is the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. As a firm proponent of Universal Design, I encourage people to live in an environment that will be supportive in all circumstances. In other words, anybody might slip in the bathroom, regardless of age, health, or mobility. Anyone could break a bone or suffer some other injury. In many ways the younger and more active you are, the more likely you are to sustain an injury. If all houses were built with grab bars in appropriate places, wider doors and hallways, and zero step entries, no one would think anything was unusual about these features. Then, if there was a need for these features, on a temporary or permanent basis, they would be there. One of the greatest goals in my work is to increase the daily use of universal design features in every day use in people’s lives. It makes so much more sense to incorporate grab bars and other safety features in our homes before we need them rather than wait until we really need them, because then it is often too late. The trouble with waiting until we need safety features to get them is we often discover that we need them only when we fall. Falls are the leading cause of injuries to older adults in the U.S. It would be great to have grab bars installed long before we need them and to have developed the habit of holding on to them as we get in and out of the tub or shower for example. Then we would be much more likely to reach for them instinctively if we felt ourselves falling. Two thirds of those who fall will likely fall again within six months and one third of falls are due to environmental hazards within the home. So, please take the time to look around your home and assess the fall hazards within your home and take steps to mitigate the danger of falling. If you need help, please give me a call. I would be more than happy to perform an assessment and make whatever modifications you decide to do. Keep in mind that sixty percent of injury related deaths are due to falls. Also remember that many falls result in broken bones that can be very difficult to heal in older adults. The old adage, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” is very fitting to this subject. Oftentimes something as simple as a loose throw rug or a dangling extension cord can lead to a life altering fall. Please be careful and call me if I can be of assistance. I can be reached at 540-384-2064 or by email at cmoore@solidrockenterprises.com.

While I usually highlight issues inside the home, this month I’m going to talk about getting in the door. While most of us never give it a second thought until we have trouble negotiating them, most homes have at least two or three steps from ground level to the front door. Most attached garages have at least one step up to the main floor level. Sometimes this obstacle becomes an issue after an injury. You or a loved one is ready to come home from the hospital after a broken bone and you realize you can’t get in the house! I’m going to discuss some immediate fixes to get you in the house, but I’m also going to suggest some design ideas so that if you’re building or remodeling you can avoid having the problem come up at all. The first solution that occurs to most of us is a ramp. For an immediate solution, they’re hard to beat. We have modular aluminum ramps available for sale or rent and we can have them installed within a couple of days. Ramps do have their drawbacks, however. Many people do not like the idea of a wheelchair ramp sticking out of the front of their house. Depending on the topography, you might be able to put it in the back or in the garage. The other drawback of a ramp is the space they take up. A properly installed ramp should slope no more than one inch of rise for every one foot of run. Suppose you have three steps on the front of your house. The typical step is about seven inches tall, so your ramp would have to be at least 21 feet long. Even in a garage where your ramp might be only 7 to 8 feet long, you may be taking up parking space you can’t afford to lose. Another option to consider is a platform lift or a chair lift. A platform lift will accommodate a wheelchair or a standing person and raises straight up and down. A chair lift is a seat that mounts on the stairs and goes up and down the stairs on an incline. Both of these types of lifts get around the space required by a long ramp, but the cost can be quite high. If you have the luxury of planning ahead, I would recommend building a zero step entry into every house that is built. Often, the easiest way to do this is to simply build the garage floor level with the main house floor. While building codes used to prohibit this practice, it has been accepted for almost ten years now. Unfortunately most builders continue to build with the step down. Another way to accomplish a zero step entry is to build up earth into a berm leading to the vicinity of the door and constructing a level “bridge” to the door. This prevents the problems associated with backfilling against the wood floor framing of the house which can lead to rot and termite problems. A gently sloping sidewalk is installed leading from the end of the “bridge” to the street or driveway. And don’t forget to install a door with a low threshold that won’t be an obstacle to anyone with mobility issues. It’s also a good idea to provide a roof over the entry to help prevent water from coming under the door as well as to protect you from the weather as you are entering the house. If you need advice about your specific situation, please give me a call at 540-384-2064.

As I work on helping seniors to remain in their homes and try to educate people on the choices they have as they age, I realize more and more how important it is to be able to stay in touch. I have written many things in this column about different products and services that help seniors who are aging in place and their caregivers and loved ones stay connected. I am continually looking for new ideas and approaches to make this process simpler. One of the simplest ideas is the idea of banding together to form villages to facilitate people helping each other. (The first village in our region is Lynchburg Area Villages. They are holding a Seniors Forum at the Oakwood Country Club on March 8. For more information visit www.lynchburgareavillages.org or call 434-851-6530) I am also researching the plethora of electronic communication and monitoring systems that are appearing on the market. There are many platforms and setups on the market and more are appearing every day it seems like. Rather than get into specifics and individual systems, I’m going to talk about some of the different approaches and features that are available. I intend to begin offering some of these monitoring systems in the near future, so if you’re interested, I would very much like to know what features are important to you. First of all, there are two broad categories of information we might want to monitor. These are “remote vital signs monitoring” and “remote passive activity/safety monitoring”. In other words vital signs monitoring gives a caregiver the ability to check things like blood pressure and heart rate while activity/safety monitoring allows a caregiver to make sure that everything is OK. All of these systems rely on sensors of various kinds. There are motion detectors, sensors that can tell when a door or window is opened, or a stove is turned on, or a toilet flushed. Many of these systems will “learn” a person’s patterns and alert a caregiver if something is out of the ordinary. For example a pressure sensor in the bed registers that your loved one usually gets up between 8:00 and 8:30. If there is no movement by 9:00 it triggers an alert. Because of privacy concerns, some systems eschew the use of cameras while others use them only in common areas or at ankle height. Most systems are highly customizable to adapt the installation to the individual’s needs. Motion detectors can sense movement and turn on the lights. Another distinction is whether or not there is a central monitoring service available. While many systems require family members or other caregivers to receive the alerts and respond accordingly, at least one system offers a centralized switchboard of tele-caregivers. Options are available for constant surveillance, scheduled check ins, or on call only. This kind of support is great for people who don’t have family to take an active role in monitoring their loved one. Another neat feature I found is a video screen than can be set up to display the patients schedule, weather, news, and other information of interest to them. Family members can even send pictures or videos whenever they want. Also the system can be set up with a video chat feature so you can see and talk to a family member even if they are on the other side of the world! There are many more features and more every day. I’ll be writing more about this subject in the months ahead so let me know if you have questions. You can reach me at 540-556-0650.

The deadline to apply for the Livable Homes Tax Credit is February 28. If you purchased a new home or remodeled an existing home in 2010 and the new home or the remodeling involved accessibility features you could be eligible for a tax credit of up to $2,000 on your Virginia income taxes. I talked about this program in the May 2010 edition of Housing Matters.  I hope to clarify the requirements and remind people not to miss the deadline of February 28. If you purchased a new home in 2010 (either newly built or converted from a non residential use) and it meets the three features of Universal Visitability or incorporates three accessibility features and meets the requirements of an existing standard, you are eligible to take the $2,000 credit. The three features of Universal Visitability are 1) at least one zero step entry into the house, 2) an accessible bathroom on the same level as the zero step entry, and 3) doorways with at least 32” clear width and hallways and passageways with at least 36” clear width leading from the zero step entry to the bathroom and an eating area. If all of these three features are present, there are no further requirements. If you do not have all three of these, the home must incorporate three accessibility features and meet the requirements of an existing standard. Some examples of accessibility features are: Accessible route such as a ramp Zero step entry Lifts Elevators Zero step entrance 32” clear width doorways 36” clear width hallways Accessible switches, outlets, and controls Accessible bathrooms Accessible and usable kitchen facilities Grab bars Lever handles on doors and fixtures Sensory modifications The requirement that you meet an existing standard is a little murkier because there are several different standards that exist that could be referenced. I have found that the ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG), while not technically applicable to single family homes, will cover you if you are in compliance. If you have specific questions, get in touch with me and I’ll do my best to answer them for you. If you retrofitted or remodeled an existing home, the project must include at least one accessibility feature and meet the requirements of an existing standard. If sensory modifications have been provided, they must be structurally integrated into the home. Sensory modifications are anything that would assist sensory disabled people such as a doorbell that activated a strobe light for a person with hearing loss. Any device must be permanently attached to the home to qualify. The credit for retrofitting an existing home is also $2,000 but is limited to 50% of the cost of the project actually incurred by the taxpayer. Please note that any costs paid through Granting Freedom, the VA, VHDA, Department of Rehabilitative Services, or any other organization would not be eligible for the credit. For either new or existing homes, if the credit exceeds your tax liability, you may carry the credit forward for up to five years, and if the amount of  eligible credits exceeds one million dollars, each approved taxpayer will receive a pro rata amount of credit. Once you have submitted your application you will receive a tax credit certificate from the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development by April 1. I hope this information is helpful and not too confusing. If you have questions or need a copy of the application, please call me at (540) 384-2064 or email me at cmoore@solidrockenterprises.com.

For some time now, I have been espousing the value and benefit of helping people remain in their own homes as they age as long as they wish. I have cited studies that show that the vast majority of people want to remain in their own homes for the rest of their lives. I have talked about different home modifications that make our homes safer and more comfortable as we age. I have talked about the principles of Universal Design which seeks to create living spaces that can be used by all people without regard to disability or limitation. During the last three or four years I have worked tirelessly to educate people on the fact that this idea of remaining in your own home as you age is called aging in place. This term (most often seen in quotes) refers to a mindset and an attitude as well as specific actions that refute the notion that it goes without saying that we have to give up our homes and our independence at some point in our lives as we age. Many directories of products and services do not contain a category for Home Modifications to enable aging in place, but they are full of retirement homes you can move into after you give up your home. This idea that you have to move out of your home is one that I, for one am working hard to eliminate. Mostly because its just not true. Month after month in this column I explain techniques and tactics that make aging in place not only possible but preferable. Against this background, imagine my surprise when I read an article the other day about the opening of a new assisted living. The article says that the facility offers “age in place living”! Now, as I’ve described aging in place refers to remaining in your own home as you age. By definition moving into a retirement community or assisted living facility is not aging in place. Let me be clear that I believe that seniors and their loved ones who are caring for them should have as many options as possible, and for some people, these facilities offer an ideal living arrangement. But it is definitely not aging in place. Besides the advantages of remaining in familiar surroundings and remaining close to family and friends, aging in place usually offers financial incentives as well. In a recent article by Patrick Egan from The New Old Age Blog entitled “When the Assisted Living Bill Baloons”, Mr. Egan describes how assisted living costs climbed 5.2% from 2009 to 2010 to a national monthly average of $3,293. In addition sometimes minor changes in ability can trigger a new level of care (and large price increases). Clearly aging in place has its challenges as well. See the December Senior News for a discussion of senior villages, a small but growing movement of seniors banding together in local communities to facilitate easier access to products and services needed to age in place. I am constantly looking for new ideas, products, and solutions to aging in America a less daunting and more rewarding journey. If you have questions about aging in place, Universal Design, or Home Modification or would like to see something addressed in this column, please get in touch with me. You can write to me at Chris Moore, Solid Rock Enterprises, Inc., 428 West Riverside Drive, Salem, VA 24153, email me at cmoore@solidrockenterprises.com, or give me a call at (540) 556-0650. Remember my goal is to provide solutions to aging residents. In closing I wish each and every one of you a blessed and healthy New Year.

There is a small but growing movement sprouting in this country that is creating “elder villages” where seniors who wish to remain in their own homes as they age are banding together to help themselves and each other access the services they want and need to make their lives more safe, secure, comfortable, and enjoyable. I am excited by this trend and will be working to create a village here in Salem and hope to see them sprouting up throughout Central and Southwest Virginia. There is already one in the works in Lynchburg (they can be reached at 434 851 6530). According to the Village to Village Network website (www.vtvnetwork.clubexpress.com) there are over 50 villages operating across the country and one in Australia. These villages vary widely from one another in complexity, scope, and organizational structure. Some have paid staff and charge hefty membership fees; others are run entirely by volunteers and charge smaller fees or none at all. What they all have in common is that they are groups that are organized to help their members have better tools to age gracefully in their own homes and have better access to the resources that already exist. I believe that this approach to life, to take stock of our needs, pull up our bootstraps, and make our homes and communities better places to live is the heart and soul of the American Spirit. We need more of this kind of can do thinking and entrepreneurship in our country and I for one applaud it wherever it can be found. I would like to begin a conversation within our communities in Central and Southwest Virginia. Let’s begin to band together to take care of our seniors and make each other’s life richer and more fulfilling. As I have been involved in providing home modification services to help seniors remain in their homes, and as I helped care for my own mother before her passing in July, I have realized more and more how fragmented our senior services providers are. I have seen the need for a centralized directory of services to help those who are caring for a loved one find the help they need. This is one of the functions of villages to provide a list of vetted providers to their members. These providers may also offer a discount to village members. The senior networking groups which operate throughout this region are a great source for service providers who provide services to seniors. Some of the services which may be offered include: Transportation Home health care Social and educational programs Companionship Home Modification Companionship Errands Meals Help with financial issues, paying bills, etc The services which are need will vary from community to community, but the important thing is to find what the needs are and find a way to meet them. There are many existing groups and organizations (community senior centers, church, and civic groups) that would be eager to plug in and provide coordination or volunteer services. Anyone who is interested in getting involved in implementing this vision, please call me at (540) 384-2064 or email me at cmoore@solidrockenterprises.com. I look forward to seeing these villages pop up all over our region. As this is my last column of the year, and Christmas is right around the corner, I’d like to take a moment to remember our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and to thank him for all the blessings I have received throughout the year. I hope that each of you will count your blessings and I wish every one of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

You may have already heard about the MedCottage. There has been a lot of coverage over the past few months about this unique approach to aging in place. The MedCottage was created and developed by Ken Dupin, who lives here in Salem, VA. I had the opportunity to tour the prototype MedCottage which currently resides at the Corporate Research Center at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. The MedCottage is a modular self contained medical environment that can be set up almost anywhere, but the idea is that it can be set up for the care of a loved one near the home of the caregiver, so that the family can stay close to, and manage the care of their loved one. The features which are packed into this 288 square foot modular structure are really astounding. There is a positive or negative pressure system so that any pathogens can be kept in or out. There are electronic reminders to remind you to take your medications. The lights are designed to light up the floor to help prevent falls. (Oh, and by the way, they are motion activated so they come on automatically when you get up to go to the bathroom) And if in spite of these safety features, you were to fall, the floor is designed to absorb 80% of a fall (you can bounce an egg on it without breaking it). There is a ceiling lift that can transport a patient from the bed to the shower for those who are unable to walk. You also have the ability from any where in the world with an internet connection, lock and unlock the doors, see who’s at the door, check the temperature, blood pressure, weight, fluid intake, etc. of your loved one living in the MedCottage. In short, the MedCottage will allow thousands of people to grow old gracefully near people that they love and who love them rather than spending their final years in an institution. As I discussed in last month’s Housing Matters I am envisioning community networks popping up around our great country that will enable our aging population to access the help they need to continue to live independently in their later years. I am excited to see innovations like the MedCottage being developed by private enterprise to meet the needs that will be continuously growing as our population ages. The 85 and older age group is now the fastest growing demographic in our country and will be for years to come. I can see a time in the not too distant future when there are MedCottages, and homes wired with similar technology connected to a community hub where senior citizens and their caregivers can easily access the resources and services they need to live full and healthy independent lives for as long as they desire. I for one will continue to strive to make this vision a reality. For more information or to comment on Housing Matters please call (540) 384-2064 or email me at cmoore@solidrockenterprises.com. Let’s all work toward better housing, because Housing Matters!

I was reading a report* the other day that is subtitled “Rethinking Solutions to the Home Care Challenge’. Unless this is your first time reading Housing Matters you know that I am an advocate for Aging in Place and that I help people remain in their homes by remodeling for safety and accessibility. The report I was reading points out, and anyone who has been through it can verify, there are many more pieces to the puzzle that must be assembled in order to successfully age in place. In order to safely and comfortably remain in their own homes, seniors (and people of any age who have a disability) must have a support system which includes connections to the outside world such as monitoring, home care, transportation, activities, etc as well as home adaptations and assistive technologies that make the home environment usable and safe for anyone regardless of ability or other limiting factors. The underlying idea is to create an infrastructure in the community that provides all of the services available in a retirement community at a lower cost and in the comfort of your own home. The senior benefits because over 80% of people over 45 surveyed said that they want to stay in their own homes as they age. The community also benefits when older remain people remain in their neighborhoods. I believe strongly that we lose a valuable source of wisdom and strength when our senior citizens are isolated in retirement communities. This integrated system of home design, monitoring, and comprehensive care services coordinated to provide care for seniors living at home is referred to in the report as Aging in Place 2.0. I expect you will be hearing more about this concept in the months and years to come. This is an idea whose time has come. I can envision clusters of houses; either newly built using Universal Design principles or existing homes remodeled to incorporate these principles. The houses would allow their residents to live independently and with dignity while a monitoring and care system would be available to help as needed with activities of daily living or emergencies. In many ways the idea harkens back to a simpler time when people simply took care of one another because it’s the right thing to do instead of waiting for some government program to come along and do it for them. Maybe putting these systems in place in our communities will be a step toward reducing the large amount of government intrusion in our lives. We’ve got to start somewhere. If you are interested in reading this report, send me an email to cmoore@solidrockenterprises.com. If you provide services to seniors and would be interested in being part of a network that makes this level of care available to our aging population here in Southwest Virginia, let me know. We need to make it easier for seniors to access the services they need to lead safe, comfortable, and fulfilling lives. If you are a senior and your home isn’t working for you as well as it used to and you would like to learn more about the services that Solid Rock Enterprises, Inc. can provide in making your home a safer, more secure, and more comfortable place to live, please get in touch with me. I would be more than happy to come out and take a look. You can call me at (540) 384-2064 or write to me at Solid Rock Enterprises, Inc., 428 West Riverside Drive, Salem, VA 24153. * The MetLife Report on Aging in Place 2.0 © 2010 MetLife

I was recently reading a study,”Caregiving in the U.S”* which looked at the number and impact of people in this country who care for or help to care for another adult. With the aging population, more and more of us are involved in caregiving in one form or another. The study cited that 44 million Americans or 21% of the adult population is involved in caring for another adult. The vast majority (83%) of these are family members. The estimated value of these services, if they had to be paid for, is 257 billion dollars annually. One of the hardest parts of being a caregiver is finding resources to fill needs and finding answers to your questions about everything from transportation to medical issues to housing maintenance and adaptation to allow for changing needs. Where do you look for answers to these questions? One place people here in Southwestern Virginia can begin is right here in the Senior News. Each issue is jam packed with resources to help someone caring for a senior. If you don’t see it in these pages, call Gary Cooper who generally knows about anything related to seniors that’s happening in Central and Southwest Virginia. His contact information is located in the front of the magazine. If you use a computer, there’s a website that’s devoted to helping caregivers find resources and answers to their questions. It’s called www.caring.com and deals with every aspect of caregiving from housing to health. One of the features they offer is a panel of experts from a wide variety of fields. These experts provide free answers to questions in their area of expertise. I was recently honored to be chosen as an expert in the areas that I deal with in this column, Universal Design, Home Modifications, and Aging in Place. I believe that over the next few years we will see a dramatic shift in the way we care for our aging loved ones. One of the reasons I got into this line of work in the first place is that I believe that we suffer as a society when we isolate our older population in retirement communities. I think that when a community is well integrated and different generations interact with each other on a regular basis, everyone benefits. Some of the people whom I have done remodeling projects for, particularly some of the World War II veterans have enriched my life tremendously just by having a chance to meet them. If you are caring for a loved one, cherish every moment you have with them, even when you are worn out, because our time here on earth is over in the twinkling of an eye. So if you are a caregiver and need help, look through the resources available in the pages of this magazine or at www.caring.com. If you could use some help making your home more accessible please give me a call at (540) 384-2064, send me an email at cmoore@solidrockenterprises.com or write to me at Solid Rock Enterprises, 428 W Riverside Dr, Salem, VA 24153. I would be happy to help. * “Caregiving in the U.S.” National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, April 2004 Funded by MetLife Foundation