Aging In Place Poses Challenge For Many Elders

First in a series on housing for independent living.

For more than a quarter of a century, Elinor and Herman Nuxoll have made their home at 1419 E. Marietta.

Herman, 86, has lived in the block since he was just a tot. He grew up in the house next door, where a daughter now resides.

Elinor suffered a heart attack several years ago. Herman was disabled by a stroke. They have only Social Security to see them through. But they are determined to stay in their home as long as they possibly can.

“We have looked at retirement homes,” says Elinor. “But Herman insists he’s here to stay forever.”

A. J. “Bud” Pardini, former Spokane banker, state legislator, and state utilities commissioner, and his wife, Donna, bought a lot at Priest Lake in North Idaho, where they planned to build a retirement dream home. Upon his retirement, the couple moved to Priest Lake to be near the lot. There they began poring over home design plans, but to no avail.

“If you wish to build an ‘empty nester’ home,” Pardini wrote in a letter to Modern Maturity magazine, “there is almost nothing designed for older but still healthy citizens who want a single-story, two-bedroom, two-bath home of around 1,500 to 1,800 square feet.”

He proposed that editors of the magazine, which is published by the American Association of Retired Persons, invite architects to submit home designs for empty nesters wishing to age in place. He mailed a copy of his letter to me.

That was two years ago. Now the Pardinis are looking to move back to Spokane. They would like to buy. But finding a suitable existing empty-nester home which offers the couple, now in their mid-60s, the opportunity to age in place is almost as hard as building one, the Pardinis are discovering.

“I think there is a good market waiting for developers who will design and build empty-nester homes for younger retirees who have no desire to give up their independence and settle into retirement conclaves,” Bud Pardini observes.

Though their housing options are nothing alike, the Nuxolls and the Pardinis share a common goal: Maintaining independent lifestyles.

“How to stay independent is the No. 1 question we are asked at Aging & Long Term Care of Eastern Washington,” says Judith Ross. As coordinator of community education for this region’s overall senior services agency, she dispenses more information on housing options to older persons and their families than probably anyone else in the area.

There are many different ways to stay in charge, Ross says. In her frame of reference, Ross says, independent living takes in apartment living, whether in an apartment building or in a retirement community. It can include communal meals. But not supervised care.

“Older people want to live independently as long as possible,” says Ross. “But there are risks. They fall. They forget and leave something burning on the stove. Things break and don’t get repaired. The snow isn’t shoveled, and the grass isn’t mowed.”

But help is available.

In Spokane, a good place to start is by calling 458-2509 - the number for Aging and Long Term Care.

Under its broad umbrella many community service organizations staffed largely by older volunteers provide an array of elder services. In an effort to expand this effort and recruit more volunteers, the American Association of Retired Persons has declared this national “Connections for Independent Living Week” starting today.

The Nuxolls themselves receive considerable help from the AARP’s volunteer programs. Elinor also happens to be the AARP’s media relations representative for this area. The dual role makes her a natural “poster child” for AARP’s independent living promotion.

The Nuxolls get one meal a week from Meals on Wheels. They also receive a once monthly delivery of frozen meals which go into the freezer until needed.

In the past, the Nuxolls have gotten help with major electrical problems and minor structural modifications to their home. “Like so many other older folks,” says Elinor, “we need a helping hand to stay independent as long as we can.”