Canada’s seniors’ population continues to grow, and with this demographic already having tripled in size over the last 40 years, it is expected to grow to 10.4 million over 75-year-olds by 2037.
This was identified in a report by the Canadian Urban Institute in 2019. This means that in many provinces and territories, the number of seniors will be double the current numbers.
The same report identified that ideally a senior citizen should be able to grow older and remain in their current neighbourhood, meaning they can maintain existing friendship and community links, which in the senior years can be so fundamental to a person’s overall well-being.
It is no surprise then that many Canadians with senior family members are seeking to ensure they can remain in their own home well into old age by installing a home elevator.
Presumably with various possible avenues to select from when it comes to adapting the home, relocating, or providing alternative care arrangements, installing a residential elevator has some clear benefits that many Canadians have already identified with in recent years.
Here at Stiltz Home Elevators Canada, the team look at those factors.
Eased anxiety
One of the stand-out feelings about having older parents is worry. We are concerned about their health, future illness, whether they are safe living independently, and what the future will bring, particularly if they become more immobile or take a fall. Installing an elevator in the home can ease some of these concerns almost instantly.
Stairs are a significant potential hazard to older people and knowing that your older family member need not use them can relieve a great deal of worry for loved ones. Reassurance that an almost inevitable house move will hopefully not be needed is an added comfort.
Age in place
As we age, our surroundings become crucially important to our well-being. Staying home when health and weather conditions advise, so it is crucial that we are happy in our homes as seniors. Our decor brings to mind our personal taste, home, comforts, and often decades of family memories. This is a lot to leave behind.
If one day, the need arises to be somewhere that is just single storey, or even more significantly, to move in with family members who can help out. By choosing to install a residential elevator seniors can age in the home they live in, without the huge stress of a home move.
They remain linked to their own community, instead of forced to move outside it, and engage with a new one for their own safety sake. This cannot be underestimated for what it offers in the way of comfort and reassurance to an older person. Of course, as loved ones, nothing matters more to us than our parents’ health and happiness.
Maintain independence
Many seniors are absolutely ‘young at heart’ and become frustrated with the sudden or ongoing lack of mobility that arthritis or illness can bring. However, those who have installed a home elevator report taking action in doing so as one of the most significant contributions to their well-being.
Whether a customer needs a two-person home elevator, meaning they can move freely without help from children or carers, but with a companion if desired, or a wheelchair home elevator if they are a wheelchair user or have concerns of this in the future.
Homeowners that have made the choice to install a residential elevator typically enjoy moving freely around their home, can ease a lot of frustration, keep dignity and even help to maintain the integrity of the parent and child relationship.
Safety and security
Much as we seek to keep a watchful eye on our family members, by having their local friends’ cell phone numbers, or installing video doorbells, an emergency alarm or remote access doorbells; a home elevator is another ideal use of sophisticated technology, designed to make life that little bit easier.
Even without being there, we know we have done our utmost best to make our parents’ home hazard free, accessible and easier for our much-loved family members to manage and be happy in.