1. What is CAPS?

The CAPS program (Certified Aging In-Place Specialist) is a collaboration between the National Association of Home Builders’ NAHB Remodelers, AARP, the NAHB Research Center, and the 50+ Housing Council.

2. How should you modify your home to make it more comfortable?

To age-in-place you will probably need to modify your house as you mature to increase access and maneuverability. These modifications range from the installation of bath and shower grab bars and adjustment of countertop heights to the creation of multifunctional first floor master suites and the installation of private elevators.

3. Why do people have slip and falls in the home?

There are five major causes for slip-and-fall accidents:

1. Lack of slip resistance on walking surfaces
2. Poor walking surface conditions
3. Poor visibility
4. Lack or poor condition of handrails and guardrails
5. Poor accessibility

4. Will we have to choose between safety and beauty?

Best Bath is dependable, safe and esthetically pleasing. We strive to engineer cutting-edge technologies into our products to keep up with the ever-changing interior design fashions. View our gallery on the web site to get a feel for what is available only at Best Bath Systems. Washington University, Barnes-Jewish Hospital, St. Louis Children’s Hospital and St. Luke’s Hospital have all used Best Bath Products in their facilities.

5. Our bathroom is small and odd-shaped. Can you help us?

Best Bath has over 400 models to choose from and accenting colors that are limited only by your imagination. Please call a Best Bath sales representative to go over your specific requirements.

6. What is the most dangerous room in the home?

The bathroom is notoriously dangerous. Slips and falls are one of the leading causes of accidental deaths in the United States, and bathrooms are enemy No. 1 due to the water involved in bathing and sink use.

7. Would it make good financial sense to remodel my bathroom?

Staying put makes economic sense. It is not only more comfortable to live out your life in your own home, it’s much more affordable.

The average annual fee at an assisted-living facility — a place where older people live independently but also receive a host of services like medication monitoring and meals — is $34,000. And in the nation’s most expensive metropolitan areas, including New York, the costs may be closer to $70,000. Relative to these ongoing costs that will at least stay the same or likely increase every year, investing in a safer bathroom to allow you years more of independent living in your own home is a very good financial decision.

8. What makes a home easier to live in as we get older?

Thinking ahead is the key. You'll need at least one zero clearance point of entry, a main floor bedroom and full bathroom, and main floor laundry. Have a plan that will be helpful to all ages and more accommodating to those who may want to stay in the home when they're older. For instance, think about a master bedroom on the first floor. It can be a den or guest room now, but later it can switch to an accessible bedroom.

9. What's most important for getting around the home?

A level floor. Make the transitions from outside to inside and from room to room as smooth as possible. For example, eliminating threshold humps makes navigation easier whether you're pushing a stroller, carrying groceries or using a wheelchair. And consider widening your doorways. That's good for entertaining, for bringing in those big TVs and refrigerators we like today, as well as for the possibility that someone will use a wheelchair later on.

If you have multiple floors, a stairlift makes transitioning between floors effortless and safe. For access to a level 3-4 feet in rise, for example from a porch, a vertical platform lift makes more sense and can eliminate fears of falling or having to rely on others to assist an individual utilizing a wheelchair.

10. What are ways to prevent falls on stairs and steps?

Wherever you have more than two steps, you should have banisters on both sides. That's critical when we don't have our best balance, and it helps children, too. My house—a beautiful Dutch Colonial—has three steps leading up to the front entrance, and the banister only goes up one side. For family holidays I make sure not to put decorations on that side so they don't interfere with my grandpa—or my little niece—going up the steps.

If strength or just an inability to ambulate up the steps is the problem, the solution is to get a stairlift to assist you up the steps with ease and peace of mind.

11. What is the weight limit on a stairlift or vertical platform lift?

Maximum weight capacity on our Harmar Stairlifts is 500 lbs and on the Harmar Vertical Platform Lifts, the maximum weight is 750 lbs-including the weight of the wheelchair.

12. And lighting?

Ample lighting not only makes it safer to move about indoors, but it's important outside, too: Well-lit pathways are safer and attractive, and they act as a crime deterrent.

13. How do you make all this affordable?

It's inexpensive to change from flip-type light switches to rocker switches. They have a bigger target area, so it's easier to hit. It's also easy to change hard-to-grip round doorknobs to levers and to change cabinet hardware to magnetic catches or to the kind that open the door when you press on it.

14. What else in the kitchen?

In the kitchen and the bath, a sudden shift in water temperature can be dangerous. If you have to fumble with individual knobs or can't turn the hot one because your hands are soapy, you can get scalded. It's better to have a single-lever faucet you can grab quickly. They're quite beautiful, too.

15. How can you improve a conventional bathroom?

At least one bath should have an open-plan shower with a small curb, so people can easily step over it. And tile with a high anti-slip rating—again for small kids as well as older people. And grab bars in the shower. However, your bathroom does not have to look like a hospital.

16. Are there other people thinking ahead like I am?

As the population ages, increasing millions are demanding living arrangements and products that work with people’s declining physical function. A recent AARP study established that 89 percent of 50-plus Americans intend to remain in their own homes as long as they possibly can, a phenomenon called aging in place.

17. What is Universal Design?

Universal Design essentially focuses on accessibility for all levels of ability, having a safe, zero-entry point, a level first floor, an easily accessible and safe main floor bathroom, as well as other features inside and out that enables any person to safely visit the home.

18. Aren’t most people thinking about just moving into an assisted living facility when they feel like they can’t live safely in their own homes anymore?

Almost 9 in 10 Americans over the age of 60, according to AARP polls, wish to live out their lives in familiar surroundings. Moving to an assisted-living center is often an overreaction that can be avoided or postponed… The amenities of an assisted-living center are far more expensive than remodeling your own home to make it safer.

19. Does your home pass the "clear pathways" test?

To find out, imagine that a person in a wheelchair has just arrived to your home as a guest. How will he or she get from the car to your door? Can that person safely enter your home? There needs to be at least one entry point that is zero-clearance. Could they safely use the restroom while visiting? A manual wheelchair needs at least a 5’x5’ area to safely turn around. Would you be able to give them a tour of your home, at least on the main floor? Your main floor would need to be level with at least 32” entrances and pathways of 36” for maneuverability. Could they help you in the kitchen if you were cooking a meal for entertaining?

20. What is the minimum I could do to help avoid falls in my home?

• Clear clutter from the floor. Get rid of magazine racks, plants and other things that people can trip over or that can stop a wheelchair.

• Move furniture out of the way. Create a path so you can move easily between and through rooms.

• Get rid of area rugs. If you can ' t do that, secure them to the floor with non-skid tape.

• Make sure your flooring is smooth and slip-resistant. If you have a carpet, choose a low pile and a firm pad. The pile should be less than half an inch. Anything higher will stop wheelchairs in their tracks. It could also cause you to trip.

• Keep electric cords out of your path. They present a tripping hazard too.