Strategies #1 your health and #2 your home

By Joan Zaretsky

Have you ever had the unusual experience whereby you purchase something such as a new car and immediately after the purchase, you start to see your car everywhere you go? There is a name for this phenomenon – the BadderMeinhof Phenomenon. This is what has been happening since I started learning about Aging in Place. Everywhere I go I find new information about it. In my dentist’s office, I found a short quip in the “Wellness News” published monthly. In one of the latest online communication from our federal Minister for Seniors, there is an item about Aging in Place. This idea, the concept of being able to remain in your own home for as long as possible, is being discussed everywhere in my world – or so it would seem!

In the last KIT, the Five-Strategy Framework developed by Sue Lantz was discussed regarding strategies to “help you organize your actions, plans and choices to prepare for your best aging experiences.” In this article, we will focus on the first two of the five strategies – Your Health and Your Home. #1 Your Health

Virgil (17-19 BCE) wrote “Your greatest wealth is your health.” Maintaining your best physical and mental health are key to your enjoyment of life. Sue suggests “Maintaining your best health is a learning and discovery process. Taking care of your health keeps your options open.” Knowing and understanding your health needs are key to becoming informed of the “healthcare services including family medicine, specialist care, hospital/clinic care and home and community care” you require. Sue presents a four step healthcare cycle to support your continuous learning about health needs and services as well as adaptations needed to support your optimum health during your retirement years. She comments that each of us controls whether or not we will be proactive or reactive in this cycle. Obviously, the more proactive we can be, the healthier and more productive your results will be in your years as an older adult.

Just as we recognize the value of encouraging our students to set goals and commit to them, Sue suggests “Staying as healthy as possible involves setting goals and taking action towards achieving your health goals. Some of these actions include making lifestyle choices such as healthy eating or exercise or following through on a medical treatment plan. You can also take preventative actions such as actively monitoring changes in your physical or mental health and proactively seeking more information and access to clinical advice and support.” She concludes that monitoring your health is key and notes that today technology may play a major role in supporting your ability to experience a healthy lifestyle for your upcoming years.

#2 Your Home

Sue emphasizes that “Finding the right housing option is a critical decision for ensuring your health, happiness and safety.” One of the most important decisions you will ever have to face may be the decision to stay living in your current home, perhaps with some renovations, or moving into a different housing option.

In both of these options, you need to consider the value to you of remaining in your current neighborhood. Often older adults move to new locations closer to their families while leaving their friends and neighbors behind. There are advantages to both locations and this decision requires some soul searching thought.

Sue offers a “Top 10 List of Requirements for Aging in the Right Place” which includes the affordability of your living accommodations, the spaciousness of your choice, nearness to health care and transportation as well as many others to consider. If your current home meets most of these ten requirements with/ out some renovations and allows you to stay in your neighborhood or small town, your decision may be a fairly easy one. However, moving to a new and better location, as required to maintain your current state of health, may assist you in meeting more of these requirements, especially if your new location is still within the same neighborhood, town or city. A major move to a completely new location will take some adaptation and so you must weigh your options.

Sue suggests that perhaps you need to think outside the box and you may want to look to alternative housing options. She reviews a number of different options including moving into an apartment/condo in the same building as a friend to support your social connections. Or you may consider collaborative rental or ownership locations with another older adult. In our discussion at the ACER-CART workshop, senior villages and specially designed senior condo developments were proposed. She noted a key issue with this topic is determining the correct time to make this decision to stay where you are or move to a new location. Timing is critical.

In upcoming KIT editions, suggested strategies and supports to enable you to have a quality lifestyle longer will be outlined for the last three strategies of her framework. In the next KIT, we will be reviewing considerations when looking at your Social Networks and your Caregiving Teams. If you are interested in learning more about all of these strategies, you can google www. collaborativeaging.com . Sue Lantz offers lots of crucial ideas to ponder proactively as you move through your future decades.