Description
Over the past four decades, healthcare professionals and policymakers who provide services to older adults and persons with disabilities have placed great emphasis on conceptualizing aging-in-place (AIP) as an attainable and sustainable goal. While research heightened the awareness of the growing number of persons over 65 years of age, a shift in priorities and resources towards deinstitutionalization resulted in payment policies and programs that reflect a paradigm shift from long-term facility care as the most likely alternative for housing to aging in place in the home. In 2018, the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention (CDC) report one in four adults live with some type of disability and two in five adults age 65 years and older have a disability (3). With much focus on the aging population, we cannot lose sight that disability impacts persons of all ages.
Learning Outcomes:
The participant will be able to describe the evolution and socio-economic impact of aging in place and falls for seniors and persons with disabilities in the United States.
The participant will be able to identify two primary differences between Aging in Place and Living in Place as it relates to persons with disabilities of all ages.
The participant will be able to identify the three most common home safety challenges and design solutions for aging adults and persons with disabilities that maximize independence through their lifespan
Cindi Petito, OTR/L, ATP, CAPS, CEAC is a 25-year practicing occupational therapists and wheeled mobility and home modifications specialist. She is the Centralized Operations Manager for Accessibility & Workers’ Compensation Programs at National Seating & Mobility. For more information, please contact her at Cindi.petito@nsm-seating.com