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Age in place with modifications

Norman Transcript - 10/15/2017

Oct. 15--Americans are living longer these days, but age does have its price.

The U.S. Census Bureau found that physical disabilities increase with age. No surprises there, but many of us never think about what those physical changes could mean to our daily lives and whether we would be able to remain in a home that may not accommodate a wheelchair.

Architect and Norman resident Dave Boeck teaches the integration of Universal Design Principles and sustainability concepts at the University of Oklahoma, but it took personal experience and the experience of clients for Boeck to fully realize the need for more accessible housing and a more accessible community.

"I've started getting clients who lived in a house that didn't have bedrooms or full baths downstairs," Boeck said. "They're in their 50s and 60s and really liked the house they lived in but started wondering if they were going to be able to keep walking up and down the stairs and were worried about that."

Ground floor bedrooms and accessible bathrooms are two of the first and most common concerns that an aging population faces, said Boeck and local designer/developer Richard McKown.

"In Oklahoma, if you can get the master bedroom on the ground floor, it's a more marketable product," McKown said.

Boeck and McKown have become concerned about the ability of many people to remain in the homes they love as age impacts their ability to remain independent.

Both believe that wider doors, zero entry thresholds (no steps) and other adaptations can make homes more accessible for everyone, including guests, as well as making them easier and lest costly to adapt in the long run.

"We want to make it where our friends in wheelchairs can come in and use the bathroom," McKown said.

Small details like having thermostats low enough for someone in a wheelchair to read and adjust them can make a big difference to quality of life, he said.

High density development often brings elevators and, with them, laws that require ADA attributes, McKown said. When he built the LEVEL Urban Apartments in the Deep Deuce area of Oklahoma City, he made all of the doors at least 32 inches wide and many a full 36 inches. While every apartment could be easily made ADA compliant, there are five fully ADA compliant units.

In the upscale complex, there hasn't been a big call for those ADA friendly units, but the potential is there in the future.

McKown's concern for Norman is the need for affordable, accessible housing. And while people with disabilities of all ages need those homes, the aging population is the largest demographic driving the need.

The Institute on Disability's 2016 Disability Statistics Annual Report illustrates how broadly age affects the overall rate of people with disabilities. The 2015 disability rate in the U.S. population was 12.6 percent; but for people ages 65 and older, 35.4 percent had a disability.

The numbers tell us if we live long enough, we face a high probability of having a disability. Boeck said he has faced limitations and how they affected his quality of life first hand.

"About nine years ago, I had rotator cuff surgery," he said. "I ended up having a whole chain of surgeries that made it really hard. The house we lived in, all four bedrooms were upstairs."

When Boeck had knee surgery, the challenges he faced really increased his awareness of the challenges that lie ahead as we age, he said.

"We happened to own the lot across the street," he said. "The house had burned down."

The previous owners were convicted of arson, allowing Boeck and wife Pam Melson Boeck to buy the property for a song after the city razed the lot. But they owned the site for a decade before Boeck realized accessibility could be important in the future.

He decided to build another, more accessible home. Boeck's new home has wider doorways, wider hallways and no steps (zero entry).

"There's no step in the garage also which is a key issue," Boeck said. "Most garages have a step up into the house. That's just how builders have always built for whatever reason. You don't think about it until you can't make that step."

Both bathrooms are roomy enough to be accessible, he said, and he allowed space for grab bars, put a ledge by the tub for seating and zero-step entry to the shower which is "a little bit bigger [than average]. It's big enough that a walker or a wheelchair can get in, he said.

He reinforced the walls in key areas to allow for grab bars and added other modifications like soft-touch, rocker light switches that can be turned on and off with a palm or an elbow, lever-style door handles and electric outlets that are raised off the floor so they can be reached from a chair.

"I put in high windows to let in more sunlight because a lot of houses are dark, and older people need sometimes as much as three times more light to see better," Boeck said.

Boeck's personal journey of discovery led him to advocate for more accessible and accessible ready housing in Norman.

"I've been meeting with the Norman builders council and pretty much every builder to try to convince them that every stock house plan should be designed to be accessible," he said.

McKown also supports accessible features that would allow homes to adapt to changing needs but said basics like wider doors ultimately end up resulting in more inches which turn into more feet added to homes, increasing the cost. He said if city leaders are interested in moving that direction, he would advise providing incentives to developers to offset the cost.

Studies such as the World Health Organization's "Beyond 50.05: A Report to the Nation on Livable Communities Creating Environments for Successful Aging" have found that several people aged 50 and older "report that they live in homes that will not meet their physical needs well as they grow older."

"Approximately half of the Beyond 50.05 survey respondents said their home either would not, or would only 'somewhat,' meet their physical needs well as they grow older," the study continues.

American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) has also documented the connection between livable communities and a healthier, happier aging population who give back through volunteerism and other community engagement.

WHO identified eight areas that influence quality of life, particularly for older adults, including: outdoor spaces and buildings; housing; transportation; social participation; respect and social inclusion; civic participation and employment; communication and information; and community and health services.

A livable community has affordable and appropriate housing, supportive community services and adequate mobility options that "facilitate independence and the engagement of residents in civic and social life," according to Beyond 50.05.

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(c)2017 The Norman Transcript (Norman, Okla.)

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