Home Accessibility Bucket List

There are two categories that most people fall into when trying to make their home accessible.

One category is where someone has suffered a life changing event such as a stroke, car accident or some other catastrophe. In this case, the person may end up in a wheelchair and thereby need their home to be made accessible to permit mobility equipment to be used inside.

The second category is where peoples’ needs slowly change over time and evolve from perhaps needing a cane to a walker to a stair lift to a wheelchair.

The needs for accessibility equipment could start with a stair lift so that one can access both levels of their home. A stair lift is mounted on the stair treads and there is very little alteration to the home. An exterior stair lift may assist with outside stairs if necessary.

The next piece of equipment that could be required may be used in the bathroom where perhaps a walk in tub is required. Ceiling to floor poles to assist with getting up from a bed or chair is also a popular device. A lift up chair is also common.

The real need for home renovations to make a home accessible comes when a wheelchair is required in the home. This is when a porch lift may be needed to get the wheelchair up to the threshold height of the doorway entrance. Any bump outside or inside the home is a huge barrier to one’s freedom in a wheelchair so utmost care must be used to remove the slightest bump. There maybe the need to widen doorways and bathroom renovations to permit a roll in shower is another common need.

One of the main challenges inside the home is how to move a wheelchair from one level to another. An inside elevator is difficult and costly to retrofit. An incline lift to carry the wheelchair up the stairs has many limitations from a standpoint of stairway width, strength of a load bearing wall, head room and space at the bottom of the staircase. Ceiling lifts are also available to move a person from a wheelchair to the toilet or bed with curved track cut through door headers. If a wheelchair user is seriously considering making their home accessible the advise of a knowledgeable person within the accessibility field and an occupational therapist is a must.

There are so many factors that that make up the bucket list to make your home accessible. Each person’s situation is somewhat different. The most important part of the process is to find someone you trust to give you the proper advice.
Look for a company that can grow with your needs, offer recycled equipment and accepting trade ins as your needs evolve over time.

Hospitals to decrease 1/3 by 2020 in the USA.

Interesting article listing the four key reasons that approximately 1/3 of hospitals in the USA will close by 2020. 1. One in 10 Americans visit a hospital each year. 2. It cost the average employer $12,000 per year to cover an employee for medical insurance. 3. One in 370 people die in hospitals due to medical errors. 4. Access to more information on which hospital is the best will result in more competition and thereby some hospitals will close. Basically, there will be a huge shift to more medical care at home and with other types of medical services.

Health Care Jobs to Increase 34% by 2020 – Show Me the Money?

Here is a link to an interested post on Linkedin referring to the huge increase in jobs in health care in the USA as the population ages in the next 8 years http://linkd.in/yPqE7z .

The article states that they will be 712,000 more registered nurses, 706,000 home health aides and 607,000 personal care aides. If these numbers are accurate, there is going to be a monumental increase in assistance for those living in their own homes.

It is my opinion that most of these jobs will be paid for by the person needing the service.

Despite the average US citizen’s perception of the health care system in Canada being free, more and more services are being reduced by both the Federal and Provincial governments.

What we are facing is increased demand for home health care products and services and a major shift from Government pay to Private Pay in the coming years.

It seems as if there is almost a potential merging of the Canadian and US approach to health care that is being driven by lack of government funds in both countries that is being driven by demographic realities.

SILVER CROSS – Founder Reflection – The Original Purpose

I want to share something with you.  About 18 years ago, I got a message on my answering machine from a client that needed a scooter.  The mind blowing fact is that Carol had not been out of her house for 15 years.  She was so pleased with her new scooter that she ended up distributing flyers about our service as she drove around town. 

My heart jumped when I heard that audio recording…. still does almost twenty years later. In fact, at the SILVER CROSS year end franchise meeting at our head office in December of 2011 I got emotional after I had played her audio message. I tried to understand why I could not hold back the tears at that meeting. In retrospect, I recognized that those tears were for all the clients that I have assisted in maintaining their independence. This is the core of SILVER CROSS.

As we expand our service across North America, my mandate continues to remain faithful to our original vision. SILVER CROSS must offer a lower cost alternative to those in need of mobility or accessibility equipment with passionate, well informed, local bricks and mortar representation.

How to measure Quality of Life?

How do you measure quality of life? It’s a tough question to answer and my guess is that
no two people would answer the same way. At every stage of life our priorities are different.
Those is their twenties might measure it by the next vacation they are planning or the new car they just purchased. A newly retired couple might be happy that those medical test just came back as clear and they can plan a trip to see a new grandchild.

Take that a step further and compare the priorities of someone who is struggling with mobility and independence, at any age, to someone able bodied.

Heading out to the grocery store or the mall can be more important than any vacation, car or material possession . Imagine how life would be different if you could not get out to socialize with friends have a birthday dinner with family, or had not been out of the house for sixteen years, as the result of illness or disability.

Quality of life is not about a new car, a bigger house or a trip to an exotic destination any longer.
It is about buying groceries that you choose yourself at the market, visiting friends and family whenever you feel like it. That is what happened when Carol finally got her scooter, after sixteen years of being housebound. She went to the mall, had dinner with friends and for her, that opened up a world which she had been denied access to for so long.

What do you consider important when you ask yourself how you measure quality of life?

Half of all injury-related deaths among seniors in Canada were caused by falls.

Very interesting article in the Toronto Star on Saturday, November 18th names “After the Fall.” Key fact is that almost half of all injury-related deaths among seniors in Canada were caused by falls. The Public Health Agency of Canada estimates one in three people older than 65 will fall at least once a year, a rate that increases to one in two for people over the age of 80.

SILVER CROSS takes our role in the process of assisting seniors in staying safe in their own homes as they age extremely seriously. Stair lifts and related products are one of the key solutions provided by SILVER CROSS across North America. Falling down a stairway is something that should be avoided at all costs. Recycling stair lifts just makes sense.

Tax Credit Helps #Seniors Stay Safe at Home

Ontario, Canada is proposing a new tax credit that would help seniors stay in their homes longer and help create jobs. Premier Dalton McGuinty tax credit would make it more affordable for seniors to install lifts and make other improvements to help them stay in their homes more safely and comfortably.

New SILVER CROSS Franchise Website Launched

A new franchise website was launched this week at www.silvercrossfranchise.com to present the SILVER CROSS business opportunity. This franchise website was designed to focus on the franchise opportunity available with SILVER CROSS in both the USA and Canada. Numerous franchise videos can be found on the SILVER CROSS franchise video channel.

Carol was house bound for 20 years until…

Carol Iocubucci was one of SILVER CROSS’ first clients.  She had not been able to get out of her house for over 20 years.  SILVER CROSS supplied a scooter and it changed her life forever.  I will never forget her call…   Here is the link to her phone call 17 years ago that set the stage for the SILVER CROSS mission to help those in need find a lower cost solution to products that increase their independence. http://www.silvercross.com/Media/CarolScooterAudio.aiff

Ageing in Place – Vision 20 Years Ago Being Realized.

“I formed SILVER CROSS to give families the opportunity to find lower cost solutions to their home health care equipment needs.  What I saw in 1993 was that vendors simply offering new equipment with very few options. In other words, they were getting business by default.  It just made sense to try and recycle home health care  equipment. For the first few years, it was difficult in determining what was economically viable from a business perspective to offer to clients with recycled equipment. Demand always seemed to out  way supply. But over the years, SILVER CROSS has evolved to the most consistent source of recycled equipment in North America. We do not satisfy all requests..  but simply more than anyone else.  More locations are necessary to cover most of both USA and Canada. It my goal to continue to expand our bricks and mortar locations through franchising so that most people in North America have options to solve their desire to maintain their independent life style as they enter their senior years.” Bob Harvey, Founder – SILVER CROSS

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