A person's home is their sanctuary, and it should remain as such as they age.

With that in mind, homeowners, agencies and businesses adapt buildings to make them safer and more comfortable for senior residents.

Diane Stevens, information and referral supervisor at the Butler County Area Agency on Aging, said it's never too soon to plan for the future regarding housing for seniors.

"Someone who is still healthy and has the financial capability should do updates and improvements with an eye on staying there a long time," Stevens said.

"It is becoming quite a focus for the younger-older adults, even in their 50s, to update their homes with an eye on staying there into their 80s."

According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2009 estimate, 15.4 percent of Pennsylvania's 12.6 million people are age 65 or older, second in the nation only to Florida and above the national average of 12.9 percent.

Census data indicates that of Butler County's estimated 184,000 residents, more than 28,000, 15.3 percent, are age 65 or older.

Bob Siegfried, owner of Siegfried Construction in Grove City, who specializes in modifying homes for the elderly, said, "As people get older, they get familiar with their surroundings. I personally (turned 64 recently), and I never want to move from my home."

"If a person has to move from their home, where do they go? Likely, a nursing home, costing thousands of dollars per month. It's always more efficient to keep people in their own homes."

Some of the best improvements also are the simplest and most inexpensive.

"Grab bars are a biggie. A lot of folks are hesitant, but it's a very useful minor change," Stevens said.

Other inexpensive changes, she said, include moving oft-used kitchen items to more easily accessible lower shelves or cabinets, as well as moving the home's laundry room to the first floor.

"A lot of folks do have basement laundry rooms, and steps become a challenge and a major risk," Stevens said.

Siegfried said toggle switches, lever faucets and lever doorknobs are among other good ideas because arthritis can make it difficult to grasp those common structures as people age.

A lot of other modifications are possible at varying costs such as ramps, bathroom modifications and stair lifts.

"Consider, instead of adding concrete steps to the porch when you renovate, adding a concrete ramp," Stevens said.

In addition to grab bars, bathroom modifications can include a tub or shower with a seat, as well as a higher toilet that is gentler on the knees and hips, she said. Sinks placed higher in the bathroom and kitchen also can be beneficial to knee, hip and back health.

Finally, if installing a first-floor bathroom is not an option, Stevens said a chair lift on the staircase could be installed.

"A lot of homes in the Butler area, especially older ones, the bathrooms are on the second floor, so stair lifts are a good modification to make, so that people can remain active on both floors," she said.

Siegfried said the changes can be done proactively.

"One of the things people that are older need more of is light. You put in more fixtures or put bigger bulbs in the fixtures you have," he said.

Decreased vision can hamper mobility, too.

Siegfried suggested tacking down loose rugs or carpets, and, if a staircase has the same type of wood or carpeting as the rest of the floor, change a part of it.

"When it's all the same color, it can be very difficult to tell the stairs are even there. Use different color of wood (or carpet) on leading edge so there is a contrast there, and you can see where the edge of the step is at," he said.

Another aspect of modifying a home for the elderly is addressing the needs of the individual.

"Sometimes you will need to work with a physical or occupational therapist to address an individual's needs," he said.

For example, an individual rendered weak on the left side of his body might be fine ascending stairs with a railing on the right but will require another rail for descending, he said.

Also, a person in a wheelchair could have trouble reaching light switches if they are placed at the standard of 48 inches."If I'm in a wheelchair, that is at or above my head," Siegfried said.All of these changes can be done as needed or over time, he said, but a homeowner also can prepare ahead of time."Most homes are not designed for grab bars. They have to be hooked to something sturdy," Siegfried said.He said a bathroom renovation can include solid blocking in the walls where grab bars could later be attached for the cost of 50 cents in lumber."That way, in 20 years or so, if customers need it, there is a place for that grab bar. There are things you can do that cost pennies, but make it much easier for the house to be successful."He said wiring a house to include certain outlets on light switches, such as those that lead to lamps across the room, also can be helpful.He added many newer homes have a "universal design" with at least one entrance unobstructed by stairs or other obstacles, as well as wider hallways, reinforcement for future grab bars and higher toilets."The average person could be walking through these homes and never realize that they are designed with this in mind, but they are," Siegfried said.Modifying homes and apartments for seniors is not only a private venture, but a professional one since building owners strive to create comfortable lodgings for elderly tenants.Townhouse Apartments on North Main Street in Butler is one example of a building creating a more comfortable environment not just for senior residents, but for all tenants.Michael Teresi, owner of Newbury Realty Group, which operates several buildings in the county, said the building is in its fourth year of renovations, many of which are designed for seniors or residents who want to age in their own apartments."We are actively going that way," Teresi said. "We're doing renovations from top to bottom."To start, the building has ramps in its lobby and parking garage for easy wheelchair access and greater accessibility moving in."You can easily live here and never hit a stair," Teresi said.A fully renovated apartment features door frames widened from 26 or 28 inches to 36 inches, as well as more spacious bathrooms with a five-foot wheelchair radius.Raised toilets, wheelchair-accessible raised sinks and sturdy grab bars throughout further enhance accessibility in the bathrooms."We're pulling tubs out and putting walk-in showers in," Teresi said. "Also, we are going through all of the units and doing recessed lighting, increasing the light inside dramatically."Renovations made four years ago did not feature as much of the recessed lighting or widened halls and doorways, but Teresi said the project has evolved."We know these people on a personal note as well as a professional one. So we went back to the drawing board and said: What can we do better?"The building's other innovations are more difficult to see, but equally valuable to its tenants, elderly or not.Guests must be "rung in" to the locked building, but, in lieu of a buzzer on the wall, guests may have the door buzzer sent to a home or cell phone, allowing them to ring in guests without getting up.Teresi also has moved Newbury's realty office from a separate building on North Main Street to the first floor of Townhouse Apartments for greater accessibility.The project will be capped by adding an in-building clubhouse, plus a theater/event room and workout room.For those expecting to remain in their own homes, though, the county Agency on Aging offers financial support for house modifications to residents who have a financial or medical condition that prevents them from making modifications themselves."Those individuals must want to stay at home and be nursing home clinically eligible," Stevens said."We prioritize ramps, stair lifts and bathroom modifications, in that order."And not just anybody should provide those modifications.Siegfried and other companies like his have earned a Certified Aging In-Place, or CAPS, designation.The certification is earned through the National Association of Home Builders, set up in conjunction with the AARP, formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons."The AARP got together and said, 'What do we need to make homes safer for people as we age?' and they came up with this," Siegfried said.