Five years ago we moved our family of five into a home next door to Jan’s aging parents. Initially, her newly retired, energetic dad tackled our yard work, but as time passed and both parents’ health began to decline, we spent more time assisting them with household chores.

Eventually, Jan dissolved her business to focus on caring for her parents. After Jan’s dad passed away, her mom moved into our home. Very willingly, we spent several months modifying our home to accommodate her special needs and she lived with us comfortably until her passing.

Today, we find ourselves helping Sam’s parents. Like Jan’s parents, Sam’s parents prefer living in their home and relying on family members to help maintain their independence. Like Jan, Sam changed his career to help his parents.

We have learned many valuable lessons during the five years of caring for aging family members. First, both sets of parents were most comfortable in their own homes and wanted to live there as long as possible. However, as their needs for assistance increased, the demand on our time also increased. Secondly, we realized how important education is when dealing with aging family members as home modifications can increase independence and reduce accidents.

We are both part of the sandwich generation, a generation of people caring for both their parents and their children. Jan and Sam developed HMCo to provide the aging population home modifications, maintenance services and repair so they can live safer, happier, and independently at home.