Mr. Moderate

One of the great fears of older people is that they will get sick and their children will put them away into “a home” (read: warehouse for old people). Most old people are so set in their ways that they just do not want to change, they resist moving anywhere, and they especially do not like getting put away with a bunch of old people who are all just waiting to die.

One of the nice things about a community of this sort is that it is very elder-friendly from the beginning, so long as some consideration is given to the needs of elders in the initial design. Without having to move, the same unit that is the perfect home for a young couple remains the perfect retirement home for an elder couple or surviving spouse. And with the kind of community I’ve described in this section of pages, “meals on wheels” can be produced by the community itself, and most other non-hospital needs can be met as well. Sure, elder people do need to go to the hospital on occasion, and that will not change for members of this community. But once a hospital stay is over, they can come right back to their regular home, and bring along whatever medical devices might be needed to keep them healthy. And of course, if hospice care is ever the choice, then having that care provided by the community that the elder has lived in for a long time should be a great comfort.