Aging in Place: New Concept Helps Elderly Live Independently Longer

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Source: University of Missouri-Columbia

Released: Thu 20-Apr-2006, 15:30 ET

http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/519803/?sc=dwhp

Aging in Place: New Concept Helps Elderly Live Independently Longer

Description

Older adults may have to give up the comfort of their own homes to move

into senior housing and then, possibly, assisted living. This is what

University of Missouri-Columbia nursing researcher Marilyn Rantz calls

the “slippery slope” that leads people to assisted living, nursing homes

and eventually the hospital.

Newswise — Getting older can sometimes mean moving around. Older adults

may have to give up the comfort of their own homes to move into senior

housing and then, possibly, assisted living. This is what University of

Missouri-Columbia nursing researcher Marilyn Rantz calls the “slippery

slope” that leads people to assisted living, nursing homes and

eventually the hospital.

“Consumers say they never want to go to a nursing home. I have never met

anyone in a nursing home who says he or she really wants to be there.”

said Rantz, professor in MU’s Sinclair School of Nursing. “I think there

is a better way to do this.”

“Aging in Place,” according to Rantz, is a new concept in long-term care

that keeps people off the “slippery slope” and in their own homes with

high quality care. Rantz is director of TigerPlace, one of four Aging in

Place pilot sites in Missouri. TigerPlace consists of more than 30

various-sized apartments with access to on-site fitness, meals, medical

care, personal care services, wellness programs and more. The goals of

TigerPlace include helping people stay healthier and active longer to

avoid hospitalization and the need for relocation to a nursing home.

“Aging in Place provides services that people need in the privacy of

their own homes while focusing on maintaining function and abilities

until the end of life. In most cases, with this type of care, people

wouldn’t need a nursing home,” Rantz said.

The Aging in Place initiative has postponed or prevented nursing home

admission for more than 250 older adults, according to Rantz. The

participants walked better, were less depressed, had better short-term

memory and experienced less pain than their counterparts in nursing homes.

Rantz’s work recently earned her the Lifetime Achievement Award from the

National Gerontological Nursing Association. This award is intended to

recognize individuals whose contributions and accomplishments have had

significant national or international impact on the care of older

adults. This annual award is the highest honor the association bestows

on one of its members.

Rantz presented her Aging in Place study as the keynote address at the

most recent annual convention of the National Gerontological Nursing

Association in Myrtle Beach, SC. An overview of the research program is

currently being published in the Western Journal of Nursing Research.

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