Seniors For Living

I recently got to chat with Dave Pazgan, the CEO of 101 Mobility, based in Wilmington, North Carolina. His company provides mobility and accessibility equipment to the local community, and the staff is equipped to recommend, install, and service auto lifts, modular ramps, turning seats, and more.

The aging-in-place movement has certainly had an impact on businesses like 101 Mobility, and Dave believes there are two main forces driving this trend.

The first: economics. The real estate market is still not great for motivated sellers, and home modifications are considerably less expensive than buying a new, more accessible home or transitioning to a senior care community.

Second, uprooting an individual/couple, especially later in life after years of establishing an identity and a routine in the home and neighborhood they’ve lived in, certainly impacts quality of life. While there may be positive benefits – as in a case where a senior is isolated in their home – it’s still a major change, a huge transition, and one that may not be necessary when home modifications can often be the change that is needed to improve mobility and enhance freedom in the home.

And 101 Mobility is happy to educate people accordingly.

“We go out and speak to people making senior care/life transitions,” said Dave.  His team of licensed case managers work with people coming home from the hospital in a wheelchair, with those who have difficulty getting in and out of/around their home, and with families who are preparing for a relative moving in (maybe into a mother-in-law suite or similar arrangement, or just making accommodations for their unique needs).

Given that falls are perhaps the biggest concern for seniors (even with a caregiver under the same roof), stair lifts can provide a feasible solution for those living in two-story homes where bathrooms, bedrooms and living space are not on the same level.

For many years, the de facto decision was to put Mom in a home when it became an unsafe environment, or too difficult to maneuver, says Dave. But the options are not appealing: sell your home, move into a senior care community, skilled nursing facility or one-level home? Most would pass on these possibilities and opt for staying put.

Thankfully, there are now more organizations and businesses like Dave’s that are focused on making aging-in-place a viable option. Using assistive technology and bringing a caregiver into the home is a much easier solution than uprooting a senior, Dave said, but he added, “We still have to do a lot of education on these alternative options.”

However, with an AIP (aging-in-place) certification available through the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders, it’s clear to Dave that the interest level is there.

He’s also excited about an emerging opportunity in the Houston area, where case managers may be able to participate in continuing education-style presentations on AIP options; these classes might also offer the double benefit of helping case managers maintain required certifications.

In the next decade or so, as boomers age and experience limited/declining mobility (as a result of knee/hip replacement surgeries and other contributing factors), Dave believes there will be a corresponding boom in the “home mods” industry, as many have both the economic means to make the necessary adaptations in their homes and the resolute desire to stay there.

I wondered aloud in my conversation with Dave if homes that have undergone an AIP-modification process will become more valuable in the future. Perhaps a wheelchair ramp would be a major selling point for a couple in their 40s who want Mom or Dad to move in soon? Time will tell, but it’s certainly interesting to think about how the real estate landscape could change as home mods increase in popularity and accessible homes become more desirable.

Read more about aging-in-place options at 101 Mobility’s blog, and big thanks to Dave Pazgan for sharing your passion for keeping seniors independent and safe right where they want to be: home sweet home.

-Michelle Seitzer