Making the Home More Livable for Your Elderly Parents

By: Alicia Schuller, Marketing Coordinator, NHS of Baltimore

If you have parents in their 70’s, 80’s or 90’s you’ve probably thought a lot about their living arrangements. You might worry about their safety in their current home and may consider placing them in an assisted living or nursing home. Even if your parents are still relatively self-sustaining, they may have trouble getting around, cleaning, cooking or bathing in a home that isn’t properly retrofitted to meet their needs.

A recent article in the New York Times discusses why it may not be necessary to put your parent into assisted living and why retrofitting their current home can be an affordable and preferable alternative. According to the article, you could spend between 34 and 70 thousand dollars a year on assisted living. However, you can spend just a fraction of that by installing handrails, a walk-in bathtub/ shower, ramps, stair lifts and removing household hazards, while making the home safer and more comfortable for your elderly parents to live in.

If your parent is a resident of Baltimore city, NHS of Baltimore offers a low interest, fully deferred (in some cases) housing rehab loan that covers home retrofitting. 35% of all our rehab loan clients are elderly, and safety and livability are our main concerns in housing renovation. We have rehab specialists on site that will walk you through the entire process from start to finish, ensuring you get what you’re looking for. If you are interested in retrofitting your parents’ home and need access to affordable and responsible help, contact NHS of Baltimore. For more information on simple safety checks in every room of the house, click here.