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Stoves and countertop burners in retirement residences

Saturday, November 28th, 2009

In my last (and first) post I mentioned stoves and countertop burners in retirement residences. By that term I mean places where people get their meals, housekeeping, laundry etc but are basically independent. They are mostly, to use a horrible term, “cognitively intact”. I think I am mostly cognitively intact too, but I digress.

Here is an excerpt on that topic (stoves I mean, not cognition) from one of the books I am writing.

“ In spite of the stove’s huge contribution to domestic simplicity, people, especially women, seem more than happy to jettison this monument to labor-saving technology the minute they have the opportunity to do so. Nine out of 10 people interviewed in a recent research project Lumina was involved in either don’t use their stove (if they have one) or don’t miss it (if they don’t). One woman told me she stores her Christmas decorations in her oven because she is short of cupboard space. Someone else theorized that not having a stove in units absolves women from guilt about not cooking. And yet there are those who feel strongly that the presence of a stove conveys a message about independence—“you may not want to cook and you certainly don’t have to, but if you did decide to bake a cake or roast a chicken you could go right ahead and do that.” I knew a seniors’ housing developer years ago in Saskatchewan who believed that providing any more than eight dinners a month was bad for people’s sense of independence.

While it is true that seniors fear loss of independence much more than they fear death, most do not seem to equate the absence of a stove with a loss of independence. Many women find it liberating. There are the safety concerns to consider as well. Stoves may create a fire hazard if used by people who are forgetful. Residents in buildings without stoves in the units often cite their absence as a comfort, although people living in buildings with stoves don’t seem to be overly worried that their neighbors’ cooking habits might create fire hazards. The community I visited whose residents were most concerned about fire hazards was, probably not coincidentally, the most restrictive about anything that generated heat—stoves, toaster ovens, candles.

And yet, I believe that fostering a sense of indepedence trumps guilt and fire worries. Fire hazards can be managed, and so can guilt with some good professional help. If I were building my own building, I would include either a stove or some burners. So what do YOU think?

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First Post

Saturday, November 28th, 2009

This is the first Lumina Services post written by me, Kate Mancer.  For some reason it feels very strange to sit here and write it. I have wanted a blog for years (well, ever since they were invented) because it seemed like an enchanting idea to wonder about something and then put it out there for comment or response. For example, how important are stoves or countertop burners in seniors’ retirement residences? That is a topic I am very interested in and have thought a great deal about. I have my own views, which I will post here soon, but I would certainly like to hear  other views too.  The list of topics I am interested in goes on and on and on.

So let the dialogue begin!

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Senior Housing Blog

Friday, November 27th, 2009

Welcome to the Lumina Services Senior Housing and Health Care Blog. Our hope for the blog is that it provides a forum for discussion about the very wide range of topics we are interested in.

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