OK, I'm Ordering a MEDCottage Today

At Support For Home, we provide in-home care to seniors and others who need help with Activities of Daily Living (ADLs).  We do a lot of work with home health agencies, who support the same clients as medical patients, with skilled nursing and physical or other forms of therapy. 

All of those services are provided within the confines of the client's home.  The clients are passionate about continuing to age in place, in those homes.  They resist moving to some level of assisted living or a skilled nursing facility. 

Sometimes, though, we wish there was a middle ground that was available to our clients.  The home they have lived in for the last 30 years is too big, perhaps too expensive, perhaps too far from loved ones.

That middle ground may have become literal with what is called the MEDCottage.  "Invented" by a Methodist minister in Virginia, the MedCottage is a modular home, 288 square feet in size (12' x 24'), that is designed to meet the medical and non-medical caregiving needs of the client.  It is small enough to actually fit into the backyard of a family home, but provides privacy for the client and for her or his family.

The technology and utilization of space are impressive, already, but I am sure there will be many advancements, over time.  The cost is, according to AARP, $65,000 to $75,000.  That is quite a bit of money, but if one considers a skilled nursing facility at $7,000++ per month, the return on investment can be significant.  Combining the ROI with the ability to continue to "live at home," the MEDCottage is a pretty impressive "product" for elder care.

We will let you know when we have our first client living in a MEDCottage.

Best wishes, Bert