All important matters in life are discussed as a family, around the kitchen table, and the ideas around safety and care as we age are no different. With this thinking in mind, Jim Closs, along with his colleagues at the Bay Area Health Trust, has brought the Age Safe Seniors Home Safety Specialist™ course to Canada as part of the broader picture of empowering professionals with actionable ways to better help educate clients, older adults, and their family members on the serious issues of home safety, fall prevention, financial exploitation, and personal safety.
As Canada’s aging population grows, so does the need for senior safety specialists
We are currently witnessing an unprecedented population explosion in the older adult sector. We also know that, on average, 90% of older Canadians want to Age in Place if given the choice. With that in mind, we will need an army of educated, compassionate advocates to assist them with dignity and integrity. Age Safe® Canada will help train and empower this army to better understand the safety and emotional engagements required to ensure a lifetime of happiness, thanks to our aging in place resources.
An aging in place online course founded on industry experience
Jim has spent over thirty years meeting clients in their homes and discussing their immediate needs. Those needs have been overwhelmingly immediate due to an illness or, more prevalently, a fall. This leads to decisions that need to be made quickly and within short timeframes. Part of the Age Safe Canada® agenda is to address issues before they happen. There has never been this much awareness as to the nature of what we mean by Aging in Place than that seen over the COVID years and beyond, as we are clearly in the wave of seniors reaching their retirement and golden years.
Helping loved ones plan to Age in Place
Planning for the future is essentially done around the kitchen table, and entire families can be involved in identifying common themes around safety. This identification is the first step towards preventing falls, accidents, or incidents. Still, while it may be handy to get everyone involved, conversations around the future can also, often, be challenging. Oftentimes, seniors are set in their ways – especially after a lifetime of independence and them being the ones taking care of everyone else. As such, it’s only natural that most do not like to hear what must change.
To make things easier, having these conversations around the kitchen table – a warm, inviting location that lends itself to these delicate and sometimes detailed conversations – helps, letting seniors know they’re loved, heard, and in control of their futures. We like to think that trained Senior Home Safety Specialists™ are better prepared to have these Kitchen Table chats. They will be able to outline the potential hazards while directing possible solutions, guiding conversations towards productive, actionable steps that benefit all involved.
Age Safe Canada is active with many agencies and associations, as we feel anyone involved with seniors, be it professionals, volunteers or family members, can benefit from the information provided. If senior safety is a concern for you, consider the SHSS™ certificate.
