 | John Morris
is the residential manager for River City Elevator, a locally owned company with over 35 years of combined experience. River City Elevator provides commercial and residential elevator sales, service and repair, to meet any of your vertical transportation needs. Call John at (316) 941-4224 for an appointment and/or a free consultation at your home. |
Senior Living
2004-10-01 15:07:00
Providing a safe home environment for dad
: My parents are coming to live with us, and my Father has arthritis so on occasion he uses a walker or a cane, is it possible to provide a safe and economical way for my parents to access all parts of our house.
ANSWER: Generally speaking, yes, it is very possible. As the baby boomers age, more and more people are requiring assistance in many ways to many different parts of their homes. Stairs no longer need to be an obstacle or a boundary. It doesn't matter if you use a walker, cane or are restricted to a wheelchair, your entire home can still be yours to use.Many companies now manufacture accessibility equipment such as stairway lifts, and vertical or inclined wheelchair lifts. This equipment can usually be installed in just about any home with very little, if any, modifications to the home, and can be removed later on if necessary leaving no trace it was ever there. These lifts do not require any special electrical provisions, a simple receptacle or plug-in located near the stairway is all that is needed. Most stairway lifts can be installed in just a few hours and the most complex wheelchair lifts can be done in a day or two. In fact some dealers will even sell direct to the customer for a do-it-yourself installation. While it is possible, I strongly recommend that you have this type of equipment installed by a trained professional for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is safety.If you are thinking of building a new house, but are hesitant to build multi-story because of accessibility issues, you may want to consider installing a residential elevator. This may seem like quite an extravagance or even an unnecessary cost, but if the elevator is incorporated into the design from the beginning the cost is minimal. The builder essentially builds closets on top of one another and the electrician runs power to the shaft and the elevator is ready for installation. Looking back, not all that long ago, an automatic dishwasher was a luxury only available to the affluent. Whereas today, virtually no home is built without one. With the population aging, people tend to want smaller pieces of property, meaning less lawn to maintain, however they still want larger square footage in their home. This means houses must be multi-storied to fit on a smaller lot and still provide the space. An elevator actually makes good sense. As we grow older, and navigating stairs becomes more difficult, an elevator allows us to stay in our home indefinitely.Depending on your needs and situation, there are options available to you. Call an accessibility specialist and have them visit your home. Most will do this for no cost and can provide you with possible solutions to your problem.
