Project

The Frandsen Residence

Caregiving at Home Surrounded by Family

Soon after David Frandsen's work-related spinal cord injury, a hospital social worker asked Accessibility Design to join the discharge team on David's case. There are many phases and steps in a workers' compensation case, and Accessibility Design guided the team and David's family through the entire project while working under budget constraints, hospital discharge timelines, Minnesota winter weather limitations, and a distance of 200 miles. The family's goals included David returning to their existing home and the family providing the majority of his extensive caregiving needs themselves.

Providing Project Confidence from a Distance
After assessing David's caregiving needs and the family's ability to provide for these needs, Accessibility Design, along with the discharge team, determined that remodeling the home would be the right solution. Remodeling the existing home accomplished two important goals. It enabled the family to do the majority of caregiving, and it allowed David to remain at home in an environment that met his needs.

Before

After

Accessibility Design's solution included:

Two additions: a master bedroom/bathroom suite and a "bump-out" off the living room for a therapy area
A platform lift in the garage, which maintained existing stall space and allowed the garage to be used as a protected entrance into the home
A ceiling-mounted track lift system within the home, which connects the master bedroom to the bathroom with access to the toilet, vanity, roll-in shower, and tub
Point-of-use storage
Reconfiguration of furniture and traffic patterns in the open floor plan, which ensured all members of the family are involved in daily family activities
Three accessible entrances/egress routes

"We can never express our thanks to you for all the effort and time you put into our project. You are very good at what you do and always very enthusiastic about it. It never seemed like it was just a job; we felt you truly cared about the people you were doing it for. We love the way it turned out. Thank you so very, very much."

- Donna Fransden

The Frandsen Residence

Accessibility Design's solution included:

Freedom, Independence, & Dignity Await!