Accessibility Professionals - About Us
 The Accessibility Professionals Team has helped many people and organizations transform their homes, workplaces and public facilities making them easier to use.
Accessibility is all about helping people of all abilities to enjoy safety, comfort and independence without sacrificing style.
I'm Paul Holt, founder of Accessibility Professionals.
I'm sure many of you have been a caregiver for an elderly or disabled family member. The ranks of both seniors and family caregivers are swelling.
1 of 4 households in the U.S. and Canada care for a senior loved one.
I've been a family caregiver to loved ones who experienced declining mobility, health and independence issues.
As a family caregiver I wanted most of all to help my loved ones to maintain their dignity, independence and quality of life as they age.
One of the major challenges we have aging in place is that our own homes are often not designed to deal with our changing needs. As we get older climbing stairs and opening doors becomes more difficult, bathrooms and bathtubs aren't as easy to use, and we require 4 times more light as a senior citizens.
The good news is that it is there are simple things we can do to make our homes more elder friendly, for example increasing lighting, removing tripping hazards and changing door handles are easy and low cost. Adding grab bars or a bathtub chair makes the bathroom easier to use, or in some cases a barrier free shower could best meet your needs?
I originally founded Accessibility Professionals to help people to arrange their homes to best meet their needs to help them maximize their independence.
At Accessibility Professionals our MISSION is to assist seniors and caregivers to explore and make changes that help you to age-in-place and to live with dignity.
On a very personal level I want to share my father's story. My father, Bob, was my inspiration for founding Accessibility Professionals.
My father's health began to seriously decline a few years back. Dad and Mom clearly wanted to stay in the home where they had lived for over 30 years.
Some of the initial things we did to help Dad age in place, were to make some basic home modifications. We changed the front walk so he could get into the house. We added stair lifts so he could get up and down the stairs, we added a bath chair, hand held showerhead, grab bars and toilet rails. Dad also utilized mobility devices, such as a walker and a transfer chair.
These changes helped for a couple years, but as Dad's health declined he started falling and as Dad required more help the load on my mother, a senior herself, became a concern for everyone.
In Canada, we are fortunate to have universal health assistance and we called the local agency and arranged to have an Occupational Therapist assess the situation at my parent's home. Some of the recommendations were as easy as to encourage Dad to use his walker more often. We also arranged to have a nurse come in on a regular basis.
Throughout the whole process of Dad's health declining I take comfort in the fact that as a family we were able to help him to age with dignity at home.
I learned that as we age there really is a continuum of care. You really need to reach out for advice and to investigate the resources available. There are quite a few, but you need to do some research.
Don't delay getting help, even though your aging loved one will often resist change, don't delay too long as there are risks involved. 50% of senior hospital admissions due to injuries come from falls, 20% of these lead to deaths. 50% of these falls occur in the senior's own home.
In all of this don't forget the caregiver. Care giving is often a thankless job and many caregivers suffer from depression. Caregiver relief or respite has to be built into any care plan for an aging senior.
It is our MISSION to help you with easy to understand information to help senior's age in their homes,
We have completed and continue to do extensive research and networking in the home healthcare services community. Our network includes seniors, caregivers, nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, doctors, architects, homebuilders and renovators, building supply companies, home healthcare professionals, medical equipment companies and retirement and long-term care residences. Our experience in these areas provides a more complete view of the issues of aging in place.
At Accessibility Professionals we also carry the National Home Builder's Association designation as a Certified Aging in Place Specialist.
My hope is that we can share with seniors and their caregivers, the latest information and best practices for helping you to age in the home you love.
Our goal is to provide free information and recommendations as well as industry leading products to the US and Canada. I encourage you to explore the wealth of information provided on this site and use it to live more safely, comfortably and independently.
I wish you blessings in your journey and hope we helped in any way.
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