Visitability - Benefits

Benefits

• Residents in the community can welcome guests who use wheelchairs or walkers (walking frames), or have some other mobility impairment such as stiffness, weakness or poor balance. When Visitability is in place, mobility-limited people are not socially isolated by architecture.
• If a family member develops a disability though illness, accident or aging, the person and their family are more likely to be able to remain in their existing home, rather than having to do major, expensive renovation—or move to another house, or a nursing home.
• All residents find it easier to bring in baby strollers, grocery carts, or heavy furniture.
• Visitable homes enhance sale and re-sale in an era where the both the number and the percent of older people are growing rapidly. Non-disabled buyers are attracted to well-designed homes that welcome their aging relatives and friends and provide easy-use convenience for themselves.
• Temporary disabilities, i.e. broken leg, surgery, etc., can require use of a wheelchair or other mobility device during the recovery/rehabilitation period. This can be a major inconvenience in most existing homes lacking these basic accessibility features.
• Visitability features cost little up front - unlike the much higher after-the-fact cost of widening doors and adding ramps or electric porch lifts.
• Besides human rights, advocates cite the economic implications of Visitability. By 2010, research by the National Association of Home Builders indicates that half of all US homes will be headed by persons 55 years old or older. Average nursing home costs exceed $60,000 dollars per year per resident, while nearly 70% of nursing home costs are paid with public funds. Staying out of institutions as long as possible is a strong desire of most people and also financially beneficial to individuals, families and society.