The assessment of a home for accessibility is an important part of our process and involves in-depth conversations with residents, their caregivers and our staff at ORHA.

We require input from clients about their daily personal and housekeeping activities, as well as a first-hand view of how clients move about their homes, and where they store regularly used items.

We assess physical structures and possible impediments to develop a plan that is customized to the needs of each individual client.

Some of the information we look for during an assessment for home modifications involves items such as the following:

• Existing locations of hand holds (bathrooms, bedrooms, stairs)
• Location of washer/dryer
• Any required use of step stools
• Types of door handles and faucets
• Number and location of extension cords for appliances and health-related equipment
• Lighting performance and location of switches
• Dependence on second story bathrooms
• Porch size (is there enough room for door swing/clearance)
• Height and width of steps
• Strength of handrails