Ways to Improve Your Home’s Accessibility

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When the time comes for All Access to help modify your residence for greater accessibility, we can promise the type of service and quality work that our many customers in the greater Philadelphia area have long enjoyed.

We can add rooms, or put in a stairlift. We can make adaptations to existing layouts in the kitchen, bathroom, living room, patio, porch – or anywhere inside or outside your home to make it safer for you and your family to age in place.

We also want you to know of some other changes you can make to the home, especially if a senior (or two) will be living alone or a person with limited mobility will be staying with you. We’re talking here about home security and resources for emergencies.

• Seniors who live independently must be able to reach emergency services in the event of a fall or a medical issue. A Personal Emergency Response System (PERS) can easily summon emergency services. These systems ensure you’re never alone when you need help.

• Monitored alarm services provide seniors with a system that operates itself. When an alarm is triggered, a signal is sent to a 24/7-monitoring center, where operators assess the emergency and dispatch authorities.

All Access Co. is ready to provide you with the renovation plan and work you need. Call us today at (215) 769-1500.

Financial Aid for Home Accessibility

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When the need arises for mobility devices or home modifications, the first question many people ask is: “How am I going to pay for this?”

Here’s the real question you should ask: “How can All Access Company handle my needs and help me with the finances?”

What you need – a stairlift, a ramp – is a necessity. How you pay for it is another area in which we can assist. All Access can help you obtain the mobility products you need with the assistance of government and subsidized financing. Consider this one:

• Pennsylvania Department of Health & Human Services. The links on this page provide you with information on a range of options, services and funding sources for the Office of Long-Term Living’s Home and Community-based Services.

http://www.dhs.pa.gov/citizens/alternativestonursinghomes/

• Other resources include:

Long-Term Living Helpline, 1-800-753-8827

Office of Long-Term Living, Bureau of Individual Support, (717) 787-8091

• VA Housing Grants for Disabled Veterans

https://www.benefits.va.gov/homeloans/adaptedhousing.asp

The VA provides grants to Servicemembers and Veterans with certain permanent and total service-connected disabilities to help purchase or construct an adapted home, or modify an existing home to accommodate a disability. Two grant programs exist: The Specially Adapted Housing (SAH) grant and the Special Housing Adaptation (SHA) grant.

There’s plenty of help out there. Let All Access Co. lend a hand. Reach out to us today!

How a Ramp Can Bring Independence and Safety to Any Home

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When Debbie’s aging and ailing father moved in with her and her family, there were plenty of adjustments for everybody.

Her dad missed his privacy and his freedom. Her kids lost the use of a bathroom. And everyone had to get accustomed to physical changes needed in their suburban New Jersey house to accommodate the use of a wheelchair and a walker.

Some adjustments were easy. Debbie’s husband attached a seat lift to the toilet for Grandpa. The kids went around the house making sure electric cords and the edges of rugs weren’t going to pose a tripping hazard.

All Access had a few ideas as well, and Debbie loved them.

To get Grandpa in from the garage in the back, we installed a ramp to the side entrance of the home, at the kitchen. No more stairs to climb. We added grab bars to the bathroom (and that’s about the best $175 anyone can spend – falls in the bathroom can be deadly). We widened the doorway to Grandpa’s bedroom so that his wheelchair would easily roll through.

Everyone has settled in. Everyone is happy. Debbie can look after her dad, the children get quality time with their grandfather, and we can count another satisfied customer in the Philadelphia/N.J. suburbs.

We’re All Access Co. We can help with your home modifications, including ramps, rails, and stairlifts.

Aging in Place with All Access Company

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As more and more people choose to age in place, they find that their home – once so perfect for them and a family – now needs a bit of TLC to suit their changing needs.

This is especially true in homes with basements or upstairs bedrooms. Stairs can become increasingly difficult to negotiate as people age or become less sturdy physically.

Perhaps you have a basement workshop. Or an office upstairs. And you are not ready to give either of them up. What to do? Contact All Access. We can help.

All Access provides you with a number of options if you choose to modify your home with a stairlift. We have such a wide variety of choices that there’s something for every need and for every budget.

We can retrofit the inside of your home or the outside. Installation appointments are scheduled within a few days and most installations can be completed in a single day! Are you ready to change the quality of your life?

It’s your home, your castle. And you’re staying. Give yourself full and safe access to every level with a stairlift from the trained professionals at All Access Co.

Prepping Your Home for Winter

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The winds are picking up, the leaves swirl chaotically through the yard, and you know winter is coming. We’ll soon be spending a lot more time indoors, but not before we take care of a few things around the yard.

In March, we would call it spring cleaning. Now it’s winter prep.

What can you do to make the months ahead a bit easier? We thought you would never ask.

  • Schedule a tune-up for your heating system. Have a qualified professional check out your air handler and perform a full maintenance. This ought to be done twice a year, with the next visit six months hence. Change the air filter. With people home more and now likely indoors more, use a higher-quality air filter and replace every 60-90 days.
  • Give the garden a final look. Pull out dead plants and any weeds. Trim perennials to ground level so that they can rebound in spring.
  • Put away seasonal items. Patio furniture, pillows, blankets, all should be inside and out of the weather. If you’ve cleaned out your garage or shed, you should have plenty of room. If you haven’t, well, clean out your garage or shed. Then put away seasonal items.

Those are things you can handle. For the big jobs, such as home remodeling, stairlifts, ramps and rails, call All Access. Our estimates are free!

Boomers Aging In Place Will Drive Home Remodeling Business

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Expect a noticeable impact by the baby boom generation in home remodeling in the coming years. This demographic has driven the economy for decades, and in certain areas will no doubt continue to be the key force.

Small businesses dominate the home remodeling business and they report that they are enjoying a significant boost from the boomers’ desire to age in place. Many boomers turning to home remodelers are less interested in moving – to a sunnier climate or a tax haven and/or a smaller residence – and wish to retrofit their longtime dwelling to accommodate their changing bodies.

All Access Co. is ideally suited and well-equipped to handle such improvements to home accessibility. These include bathroom bars and ramps, to name two.

This growing desire to remain in a home filled with memories is, according to the Associated Press, particularly strong in the Northeast and Midwest, two places where the housing stock is older. With a major chunk of the population thinking about aging in place – the oldest of the 76.4 million boomers turn 71 this year – accessible housing is an issue.

A report by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing says to expect a jump in home-improvement spending by homeowners 65 and older. How big a jump? By 2025, boomers will account for almost one third of the total of dollars spent on remodeling. The 65-plus group spent less than half of that in 1995-2005.

There are many ways in which homes can be made safer and more accessible for wheelchairs and walkers. Call or contact All Access now and find out how your dream of aging in place can come true.

Avoiding Falls & Making Your Home More Accessible

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Falls aren’t funny, even though they’re a staple of comedies. Falls are dangerous, devastating and deadly.

A NIH Senior Health report noted that one in three people over 65 falls each year. Risk increases with age.

More than 1.6 million older U.S. adults wind up in emergency departments for injuries related to falls. Falls, in this demographic, are the leading cause of fractures, hospital admissions for trauma, loss of independence, and injury deaths. The most dangerous room in the house: The bathroom, which combines wet, slick floors and with hard surfaces such as the toilet, the vanity top, the tub, the glass-enclosed shower.

Eliminate risks. Minimize the chances of falling. All Access Co of Philadelphia can update your bathroom to give you a great sense of security and confidence. We can custom-build standard bathrooms or modify any existing bathroom to add ADA compliant convenience and accessibility, including grabbers (grab bars or rails), toilets, sinks, and walk-in showers. Whatever your need is, call us to discuss your project and we can help you find the right solution, plan out your space, and install to your custom specifications.

An ADA-compliant bathroom allows for comfortable aging in place, adding convenience and safety for you while also helping to maintain your property value.

Ready to enhance your independence and quality of life? Call All Access Co today at 215-769-1500 or contact us online!

How Vehicle Lifts Help Maintain Independence

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Vehicle lifts from All Access make it easy for an individual to continue maintaining their active lifestyle. We have a wide selection of vehicle lifts that will allow you to easily transport your scooter, motorized wheelchair, or other mobility device.

We can help you determine what best suits your needs in terms of type of vehicle lift most suited to your car, truck, or van and to transport your mobility device. All our car lifts are made in the USA, built with quality and pride!

Hybrid lifts combine drive-on convenience with automatic lifting power, so that you can easily load your motorized wheelchair or scooter into the vehicle’s cargo space.

Inside lifts allow users to easily position a mobility device inside a vehicle’s cargo space.

Outside lifts securely transport a mobility device outside the vehicle. Quality construction and durability make the lifts we carry some of the most popular on the market, with models designed to carry scooters, power wheelchairs and extra-large mobility devices safely and in style.

Contact us today for more information. If you’ve always been the on-the-go type, there’s no reason to stop. Whatever your special need is, All Access has a solution that will give you the freedom to go where you want, how you want, when you want.

Modifications to Make Your Home More Accessible

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Modifications to a home to enhance accessibility may well be more affordable than you think. All Access works with our customers to offer the best possible price and financing on our fine line of products, installation, and remodeling.

Here are a few things to know about keeping costs in line:

  • Home accessibility solutions may qualify for a tax credit. Improvements for made for the sake of accessibility often qualify for a deduction. The federal government and many states offer tax incentives in such cases. Note that we at All Access not tax experts, so please check with your tax professional.
  • Accessibility modifications to your home are an eligible medical deduction on federal income tax under “Medical and Dental Expenses.” You may deduct only the amount of eligible medical and dental expenses that is more than 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income. As part of those medical expenses, you may include amounts paid for special equipment installed in a home, or for other modifications if their main purpose was medical care for you, your spouse, or a dependent.

Contact us now for a consultation. We can help you modify your home and make it more accessible, whether the need is immediate or as you age in place. And your tax professional can also help. Here’s to you living your best life, now and in the future!

Improving Home Accessibility with Wheelchair Lifts

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Your mobility limitations don’t have to restrict what you do and where you go! In data analysis performed by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, about 23% of people that experience mobility impairments need specialized equipment or assistance to help them get around. If this describes you – for example, if you utilize a mobility scooter, a wheelchair, or other similar equipment to help your mobility, then a platform or auto lift may greatly improve your quality of life. These home enhancements increase your independence while ensuring your safety at the same time. All Access Co provides a variety of home improvement services specifically for the mobility-impaired – call 215-769-1500 or contact us online to learn more! In the meantime, read on to explore some of our customers’ favorite home accessibility options.

Stair Lift

A stair lift is ideal for your home if you have indoor or outdoor stairs to navigate. It works exactly like it sounds, where you simply wheel your wheelchair or scooter onto a platform and it will lift you to the next level. These are often called a vertical platform lift or a porch lift, so it’s important to know most of the time they mean the same thing. Investing in a stair lift is one of the safest ways to get up and down the stairs without even having to get out of your wheelchair or scooter.

Auto Lift

Whether you have to travel down the road to buy groceries or like to travel across the country, an auto lift can be one of the most convenient things you own. There are auto lifts available to fit virtually every vehicle and can transport your wheelchair or mobility scooter with ease. If you have a truck, options are available for storing it in the bed or externally. Other vehicles can connect the auto lift in the back to make it simple to push your device on and keep it safe while transporting it.

Home Elevator

A home elevator is one of the more luxurious and convenient options when it comes to wheelchair lift. Contrary to what many people believe, a home elevator doesn’t take up a significant amount of space in the home and it usually blends in well with the layout of a home. It functions just like a regular elevator you are used to, but it’s a bit smaller for ease of home installation. Professional installers can work with the current layout of your home and make slight modifications to install it safely and ensure it is aesthetically pleasing.

 
Ready to enhance your independence and quality of life? Call All Access Co today at 215-769-1500 or contact us online!