“Ageism by design” exists because we fail to build for the true needs, abilities, and behaviors across the lifespan, unnecessarily dis-abling people as they age. The resulting forced frailty, impoverishment, and eviction by design are preventable. We MUST and can build places that enable physical and financial independence with age.
Ageism by design exists because few are aware that the status quo of our design conventions and codes have created (and continue to create) places that are ideal for the average height male (5’9”) with high sensory, cognitive, and physical abilities. This means that we have created a world ideal for a subset of the population, forcing everyone else to adapt. It means that as we age, any typical age-related changes are exacerbated by the design of the places where we live, work, and play, sometimes forcing us into frailty and even evicting us from our own homes to move to a facility because we can no longer function independently. All of this is preventable by good, informed design.
Very few people live in housing and communities that enable people of any age or ability to be as independent as possible and to thrive. According to Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, only 1% of U.S. housing has the 5 key features for successful aging in place:
- A zero-step entry
- Single-floor living
- Wide halls and doorways that can accommodate a wheelchair (or a walker or person assisting)
- Electrical controls reachable from a wheelchair
- Lever-style handles on faucets and doors
Remember, these are universal design features: meaning that they work universally for almost anyone of any age or ability.
Some municipal agencies, advocacy organizations, and individuals are aware that older adults may need home modifications to enable them to successfully age in place. While these may be beneficial, they are only possible if an older adult has the funds to modify their home. And unfortunately, the modifications often come too late–after they or a loved one has been dis-abled by the design of their own home. Unfortunately, while sometimes thoughtfully designed, senior housing and senior living facilities are often not designed to fully enable residents to be independent unnecessarily increasing their dependence on limited and burned out staff.
Let’s look at some of the costs and how they may be impacting you.
COSTS
Individuals:
Quality of life
Life’s Savings (if they have any) & Inheritance to Family
Home Modifications: why pay $1500 to widen just one doorway when it could have been built for the needs of all people for $50 or less originally?
Home Health Care: approximately $25/hour or $75/shift; Assisted Living: $3,500 to 10,000 or more per month; Skilled Nursing Facility: $10,000 and up per month.
Families:
Caregiving Burden & Burnout: negative impacts on physical and mental health
Finances: $7200/year or 26% of their income for in-home care
Employers:
Absenteeism and presenteeism for employees who are family caregivers at $13.4 Billion/year
Senior Living:
Stress from lack of staff, staff burnout, reduced occupancy rates. What does this cost your facility in actual dollars? But be careful when looking at the cost of turnover for care staff–even with high turnover rates, this amount is misleading because their wages are so low…which points directly at one of the major problems.
Municipalities: struggling to provide home and community based services, economic development, and even access to financing as well as losing out on the $8 trillion longevity economy
Society: $50 billion in medical costs only for falls, and only for people 65 and older
Why should you as a taxpayer pay for the provision of home and community based services which are preventable?
Why should you as a homeowner pay for home modifications because the housing stock has been designed and built inappropriately?
Why should you as a business owner or a community pay for the negative impacts on your business or community revenue?
Why should we continue to accept housing, communities, and facilities that push people to an artificially lower level of functioning, making them more dependent on others and costing everyone a great deal of money and stress?
It doesn’t have to be this way. With informed choices, we can leverage the features of our built environments and design places that do not discriminate by age but rather enable older adults, their families, employers, and municipalities to THRIVE!
For more information on the issues and solutions, read this helpful article.
If you are tired of suffering from the caregiving and staffing crises, tired of the outmigration of workforce and employers, and worried about lost revenue due to absenteeism and presenteeism, contact me to learn how we can help. It doesn’t have to be this way.