If you’ve owned your home since the kids were small, the thought of leaving it in your senior years can be very hard. After all, it’s served you well for decades. However, does it serve your changing needs as you grow older or your mobility is decreasing.

Is your home still the same house you bought?

When you first moved into your home, and during its lifetime, you’ve probably modified it from the property you first moved into. You might have added an extra bedroom, finished the basement to create an extra room, changed the garden layout, built a deck, you name it. However, now that the extra bedroom is only used a few nights a year, and the decking is just too slippery or uneven to use, is it time to up sticks and move?

Not necessarily! A home isn’t just four walls; it’s a place in a community that you probably know and love, close to good friends and familiar places. So, instead of moving, why not modify? Add a stair lift so that bedroom is back in reach, demolish that deck and have a level patio instead, or just add aids to help you move about safely, such as grab rails and ramps to your front porch.

Getting modifications done

The issue for many seniors is – how do we get that work done? Your grown-up really don’t have time (or skills), and how do we know what’s available, or who we can trust to do the work? That’s where Vytality at Home can really, help. We have a network of Trade Partners who can help with almost any kind of home living aids and property modifications you require. We have negotiated exclusive rates with all our Partners. So, if you book your modification work through Vytality at Home, you’ll be employing carefully vetted companies at a discounted rate.

Home health supplies and aids

One such Partner is Assist Health Supplies in Calgary, run by Toby and his team. They specialise in home modifications that offer safe and affordable solutions to everyday access issues, from walk-in baths to stair lifts. Choosing a qualified and experienced company to carry out the installation of home modifications and mobility solutions is important, as they have the expertise to do this correctly. and also help with maintenance and support. They also offer free, no obligation in-home assessments so you can work out how the latest devices and solutions available would fit your needs and your home too!

Simple ways to modify your home

Many adaptations can be made quickly and easily without the need for major building works.

Bathrooms:

Our Trade Partners can supply and fit solutions that make your bathroom, safe and accessible.

• Grab rails on walls provide reassurance and help with standing.
• The latest range of raised toilet seats lock into place on your toilet and have removable arms, offering an easier way to stand and sit without the need for a cumbersome frame around the toilet itself.
• A shower chair enables you to sit and wash rather than stand, whilst a walk-in bath gives you the enjoyment of bathing without worry as to getting in and out over a high side.
• Ask us about trades offering major bathroom renovations including walk-in showers, new non-slip flooring, lowered basins and more.

Bedrooms:

Make your bedroom more suitable for you with specialist products such as:

• Dual zone mattresses that offer the support you may need, whilst ensuring your spouse is comfortable to
• Orthopaedic electric beds that gently raise you to your feet, sit you up, or gently recline you back to sleep, all at the touch of a button
• Transfer poles that help you stand from your bed, chair, or sofa. Toby at Assist Health Supplies supplies the Security Pole from Stander, which installs without the need for screws, nails, or fasteners of any kind. (Although do be prepared for folks to ask if you have a new career as a pole dancer!)
• If you still need access to rooms upstairs rooms, a stairlift can whisk you up and down in comfort. Modern models are remarkably discreet and don’t require major structural changes to your existing staircase either.

Outside access:

There are days when climbing steps to your front door or porch feels like climbing a mountain – but it doesn’t have to be that way. Our Trade Partners can show you solutions including all weather permanent ramps and porch lifts, to make coming home less of a chore and more of a joy. There are also aids to help you get in and out of your car, and in-vehicle adaptations such as slide-out seats and wheelchair lifts.

Outside spaces and gardens:

There’s nothing nicer on a sunny day that sitting outside, soaking up the sunshine and the birdsong. It’s one of the great pleasure of living in your own home after all. Our Trade Partners can help you transform your outside spaces to suit your changes needs, such as:

• Level access from inside the house to an outside patio via easy glide bi-fold sliding doors
• Wheelchair-accessible planters so you can keep your green fingers active
• Reducing lawn space and creating easy to care for perennial borders
• Replacing old parking areas with non-slip surfaced driveways more suited to your needs

Maintaining your home

Your home needs to be cared for just like you, so our team of Trade Partners are ready to help with all the tasks you might need doing, such as:

• Gardening and lawn mowing
• Domestic cleaning and laundry (our caregivers can do light cleaning if required)
• Snow clearance
• Furnace maintenance
• HVAC servicing and cleaning
• Exterior cladding painting and maintenance
• Interior decorating
• Roof repairs, gutter and window cleaning

Technology to help you keep safe in your home

There are a whole range of wonderful gadgets and technology to help you in your home, including:

• Video doorbells and that show you who is at the door, so you only let in people you expect or know.
• Outside motion detectors that trigger lighting
• Freeze sensors that alert you to the potential of freezing pipes
• Heat sensors that alert you to unusually high temperatures
• Remote monitoring systems that reassure your family you’re safe – as of course our caregivers can do via video chats when they visit you daily!
• Wearable call button systems that you can press in the event of an emergency or if you fall, summoning help. (For more info on senior security systems, see Senior Living)

Help with home modifications is just a phone call away

All it takes is just one phone call to us here at Vytality and we’ll arrange everything. We’ll help you get the services you need, as our specially negotiated discount rates, saving you both time and money.

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Aging in place