1st Edition

Making Aging in Place Work

By Leon A. Pastalan Copyright 2000
    142 Pages
    by Routledge

    Making Aging in Place Work will help social workers and family members of elderly individuals improve the quality of life for loved ones by enabling the aging to stay in their current living arrangement for as long as possible. Addressing issues ranging from home modification to treatment of depression, this book will help you identify the needs of the elderly in order to offer them a comfortable and more independent life. You will discover how home modifications, such as making all rooms wheelchair accessible and installing a bathroom on the first floor, can provide important physical support which may facilitate your loved ones’ability to remain in their own home.

    Through Making Aging in Place Work, you will realize what studies of naturally occurring retirement communities have discovered --that living near family and friends can provide the physical and psychosocial comfort that gives the elderly courage and helps them be more independent. You will also find valuable information on a wide variety of subjects related to aging at home including:

    • discovering support systems in subsidized housing so you can implement a similar program in your community
    • examining how you can gear your service toward individual needs and what impact it may have on aging to better tailor your services to individual clients
    • understanding what professional service providers feel is important may not be the same as what the resident considers important in terms of aging at home
    • keeping a functional nursing care facility set up in the garage or single room with all of the medical appliances and equipment necessary to support a resident in need of care on site

      From Making Aging in Place Work, you will discover that each situation must be individually addressed as there is no blanket solution for all aging people to remain in their own home. You will find a broad spectrum of services covered in this unique book to help you provide the elderly in your life with a more comfortable and independent lifestyle.

    Contents Introduction
    • Adapting Rowhomes for Aging in Place: The Story of Baltimore’s “Our House Idea”
    • Rural Naturally Occurring Retirement Communities: A Community Assessment Procedure
    • The Resident Services Coordinator Program: Bringing Service Coordination to Federally Assisted Senior Housing
    • Social Support and Depression Among Low Income Elderly
    • Attitudes of Housing Professionals Toward Residential Options for the Elderly
    • Mental Health Needs and Supportive Services for Elderly and Disabled Residents
    • Differences in the Quality of Housing Units Occupied by Elderly Men versus Elderly Women
    • A Case Study Evaluation of the Homecare Suite: A New Long-Term Care Option for Elders
    • Index
    • Reference Notes Included

    Biography

    Leon A. Pastalan